I Hate High Pressure Replacement Window Sales Reps

In the Sunday October 24th 2010 B section of the Star Tribune there was a article titled Alarm Sounds Over Sales Reps. It reminded me of a story that happened to me.

Back in the late 1970′s I was a college student at at the University of Minnesota. It was a forgone conclusion that I would one day take over my fathers construction company. However,  in the mean time I was a college student by day and a bartender  at at a popular restaurant by night. It was every college students dream.

At the end of my third year my adviser at the U of M  thought it would be a great learning experience to work for one of my fathers competitors to see how the business side of a construction company was run. One of my fathers friends owned the largest Replacement Windows Company in the Minneapolis St Paul area. He agreed to give me a job for the summer. I began their extensive two week crash course teaching me all aspects of the Replacement Window business. After 2 week of in house training on all the different aspects of the Replacement Window business it was time to learn about sales.

Its been over 30 years since that fateful day but I remember it like it was yesterday.

The sales rep ( Sol ) who was responsible for taking me out was known to be the best in the business. He’d won every sales award this company ever had so I felt confident he was the best man to teach me how to sell Replacement Windows. He picked me up at 4:00 for our first appointment in South Minneapolis. We arrived promptly at 4:30. The owners were waiting for us eager to talk about Replacement Windows. Sol was a genuinely nice guy. Everyone liked being around him but he had one fault. He wouldn’t take no for a answer. The sales presentation went about as well as it could. During the presentation Sol kept winking at me knowing he was about to get the sale. However, the owners wanted to think about it for a couple of days before they could make a decision. That’s when Mr High Pressure Sales Rep took over. He wouldn’t take no for a answer. The owners were getting upset and I was becoming extremely uncomfortable. Finally after 3 hours the Owner stood up and told us to leave otherwise he was calling the police. We gathered our things and went to the car as fast as we could. Sol had to have the last word so right in front of the owner he tore up the contact sheet and threw it in the driveway as we sped off.

Sol was laughing hysterically and I was almost in tears. I asked Sol how often this kind of thing happened. He proudly proclaimed, at least three times a week. Three times a week! I never wanted to be in that situation again. Sol assured me I’d get used to it. I didn’t want to get used to it so the next morning I turned in my resignation. I told the Sales manager I appreciated every thing they did for me but I wasn’t cut out for the high pressure selling model. He understood and wished me well.

I didn’t know it then but that fateful night in South Minneapolis tought me more about business then my 4 years at the U of M. I promised my father that very day that Western Construction would always treat people with respect.  He smiled, not the usual smile but  a smile that was saying, Son you passed the test!