The Greatest Sales Book in the World

Introduction

A Great Salespersons Story

As I sat in my office late one night, I began to think how successful and fortunate I am. I looked around myself at some of the materials I have acquired over the years that adorned my office. I picked up the 150 million year old dinosaur tooth that sat on a shelf and admired it. I remember how long I have wanted this tooth.

I then looked at the god of fortune statute that sat on the shelf next to the dinosaur tooth that I picked up while vacationing out of the country.  I glanced out of my corner office window in the penthouse suite looking over the mountains and downtown. I then looked out at the lake where I kept my boat which was about a 7 minute drive from my office building. I then looked at the frame that held the pictures of my most prized possession! The very thing I was the most proud of in my entire life. It was pictures of my biggest success, my daughter Isabelle! I wasn’t successful because of my material possessions or my big corner office, it was because of my beautiful daughter and she was one of the motivating factors that has helped me achieve.

It was a great evening and the sun was setting over the mountains. I looked back at my life and wanted to remember how I made it here. Wow, just a few years ago, I was working 3 jobs, one of which was cleaning office suites just 4 miles from where my office was.

I remembered sitting in other executive chairs while I cleaned their office thinking, someday I would love it if I had an office near as nice. I remember looking at the cubes of the sales staff thinking someday I’d like a cube like that when I get my career started. I cleaned the office of a large successful radio station, and I was rubbing shoulders with some of the top sales people in the state, and although at the time, I had already had a successful sales career traveling the country. They had no idea I was one of the best salespeople in the country and no one there knew of me. I was just the cleaning guy who came at 6pm and cleaned until 11pm.

I thought back at what I thought then, and how I got there. I remembered that was during one of my first failures. I had traveled the country starting new sales and marketing offices for other organizations. I was a national sales and marketing consultant and earned a great living, but also spent the money living the life of a young successful sales person. After years of selling on the road and putting in my dues, I earned a masters degree and doctorate in the school of hard knocks. I remember thinking, I had made several small fortunes and earned companies millions of dollars, and I was now an office cleaner. I remember living like a movie star. I traveled, stayed in fancy hotels, vacationed almost monthly, rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous!

I remembered when I sat in one of the corner offices that I cleaned and I looked back then also and tried to figure out how I had gotten to that point. After years and years of successful selling around the country, I was very well known as an expert in my industry. I was highly recruited and yet, I was working three jobs and cleaning offices trying to regain what I had lost.

I thought back at the sales and marketing consulting firm I had started after many successful years doing it for someone else. I remember how I had reached some level of success and how I put in more years earning a decent living enjoying an extravagant lifestyle most could only dream and wish for.

I sat there in that office, looking out of the window thinking to myself, wow! I have lived a great life, and although, I have lost it all! I was proud of myself in the fact that I would do anything to get it back. I didn’t think for a second that I wouldn’t earn it all back and then some. I knew I had no formal education, other than my masters and doctorates from the school of hard knocks. I remember thinking, after years of hard work, years of earning a great income, I had lost it all because of companies I had hired to manage my money. People in my organization I trusted that failed me. I was burnt out and had to recharge my batteries, but I couldn’t do it with fun, vacations or even time off. I had to recharge my batteries by taking brainless jobs where I could work and use my brain to figure out what went wrong and what I needed to do to get it all back.

I then smiled and got back to work with a smile on my face. I remember smiling and thinking to myself, “it was all worth it”! I realized I had already lived a great adventure, and I was headed for another great adventure getting it all back. Although I was a veteran salesman and businessman who has been selling and in business for over 15 years, I remember laughing out loud and thinking, “What am I worried about, I have a lot of talent, and I’m only 22 years old”!

My name is Oliver P. Maldonado and this is my story.

I remember when I discovered sales. I was just a boy of about 7 years when I discovered sales. I remember I was sitting at my babysitters house and one day I remember my babysitter very happy and exited. She was talking with with her daughter and they mentioned how they were going to get a lot of money. I was curious how they were going to do that. I remember money was always an issue in my life. I was the son of a single parent. I remember always wishing I could help and wishing I had more money, so I was very interested in how they were going to get all this money they talked about. I remember other than babysitting, I didn’t think they worked. And they were always home.

So I was paying close attention to what was to take place so I could see how they were going to get this money they spoke of.