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The early 1900s were made up of the foundation layers for our great profession. Incredible ideas. Great Writing. Things we all use still today.

 However, there were a few odd ideas out there, too.

Here’s a collection of ten of those odd quotes on everything from bowel movements, your thyroid, and your ability to fight that made up these fine individuals’ thoughts around what led to success in sales.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on X - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - The book on revenue leadership, which includes several quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

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This episode dissects prospecting from 50 to 120 years ago...discussing five key elements:
1) The origins of the word "prospecting" as it relates to sales
2) The mindset - quality prospecting over simply focusing on metrics and scale
3) Metrics and prospecting quotes - the counterpoint of above in terms of working backwards to determine how many prospects you have to reach out to to hit your numbers
4) The use of the telephone in prospecting - some initial thoughts on multi-channel versus a reliance on the tool
5) Data around the number of touches it takes to develop a prospect

There's nothing new in the world of sales, except for the history you do not know.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on X - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - The book on revenue leadership, which includes several quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

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Send us Fan Mail

We've heard it all before - the "death of" this, and the "demise of" that as it relates to the sales profession. Everything is dead, right? Well, like so many other sales-related things, this concept isn't new, either. Experts have been casting the profession and its elements to the grave since the early 1900s. 

In today's episode, I share multiple times when the sales profession was theoretically on its deathbed - and why it not only survived but thrived. I also take you through why things that work, specifically the "service mindset", disappear and then reappear to help us through troubled times.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes several quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Let’s explore sales discounting…it’s history, commentary, and why we haven’t been able to break this terrible habit. It's a problem that's as prominent and as recognized today as it was in the early 1900s. 

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes several quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In 1937, Paul W. Ivey released a second edition of his book, Salesmanship Applied. Chapter 6 is one of my favorites from my collection of books from 75+ years ago. Want to be the best version of you? Instead of recreating the wheel on these ideas, let’s turn the clock back 87 years.

We spend so much time on sales methodologies and techniques to be better - but how about building up the value in ourselves?  Ivey nails it with these ten...

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Sales - the most brilliant minds in the profession view our responsibility as "selling ideas'. Those brilliant minds date back to the 1600s and Sir Francis Bacon, the late 1700s and Benjamin Franklin, and many more throughout the 1900s.

In today's episode, we'll explore the advice from Bacon, Franklin, and a couple of amazing thought leaders on selling from the 1950s - how logic polarizes an audience, along with how to think differently about your approach.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Our version of sales recruiting, sales training, dedicated territories, quotas, salary + variable compensation plans, even sales kickoffs all began between 1890-1920.  The process designs, compensation strategies, and almost all of the selling methodologies are based on this foundational approach - which, for the most part, I’d argue has been correct. Sure, people argued for change, but the core has been the core.

In today's episode, I take you through the "why", inject some wisdom from the great Arthur Sheldon, and take you to an exploration of why we may need to shift going forward. Those cores have changed, in ways you maybe haven't thought about.  

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

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Send us Fan Mail

Salesman's "Creeds" - There was a concept that started popping up around 1905, spreading to individual companies, industries, and eventually to entire cities by the 1910s. Established to change the perception of the sales profession. these "creeds" defined a core set of beliefs every salesperson should have in taking goods to market.

In this episode, we'll talk through what these creeds were, why they were developed, how they were used, and how the concept is suddenly springing up again today.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

It's the story for so many - great at selling, promoted into leadership without training or a holistic understanding of what the role actually is. 

In today's episode, I share a parable written by Worthington C. Holman in 1909 about a medieval military leader named Dunderblitzen Von Shoosh. I loved this story so much, I had to share it...along with lessons for today.

@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

I went digging...into the origins of email as a communication medium. Along the way, I found a ton of really interesting timeline milestones that are amazing, interesting, and in some cases pretty funny.

So, in this episode, we explore those milestones - from invention to the CAN-SPAM act, and how we really haven't fixed a whole lot along the way.

Here's the article I reference - with a full timeline with resources, links & pictures: https://toddcaponi.com/history-of-email-in-sales-and-marketing/
@saleshistorian on Instagram - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
@saleshistorian on Twitter - daily quotes, pics & comics from the past
The Transparent Sales Leader - my newest book which includes a number of quotes and lessons from sales' past.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show