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The Godfather of Modern Sales Training - John H. Patterson

The Godfather of Modern Sales Training - John H. Patterson

Before Sandler, Challenger, Tony Robbins, or Jordan Belfort there was John H. Patterson - the OG sales trainer.

May 30, 2024

Good Morning! Yesterday, Salesforce reported lower than expected earnings, causing their shares to drop by 17% in after hours trading. It’s the first time they’ve fallen short of revenue since 2006, and blame the miss on longer deal cycles. Even the CRM giant isn't immune to the classic "longer deal cycles" excuse. Welcome to the club, Salesforce! 😅

In today’s Follow Up:

The Godfather of sales training ✍️
Sales tip of the day 💡
Sales news around the internet 🗞️
Sales jobs, job market & a meme 😂

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The Godfather of Modern Sales Training

Before Sandler, Challenger, Tony Robbins, or Jordan Belfort there was John H. Patterson - the OG sales trainer.

John walked back then, so others could run today.

John H. Patterson acquired the National Cash Register Company (NCR) in 1884, and transformed it from a struggling company into a dominant force in the industry by 1922.

John turned the company around by creating sales playbooks for his sales force, which laid the fundamentals for the modern sales playbooks we use today.

So today, we're paying homage to the GOAT, and diving into John’s most innovative sales strategies (for his time).

1. The Script 📜

Yea, we know. The sales script…

It’s table stakes today. But sales scripts weren’t always a part of the sales playbook.

Patterson was the first to arm his sales reps with persuasive scripts, known as the ‘N.C.R. Primer’. These scripts covered every aspect of the sale, from the initial approach to handling objections and closing techniques.

Salesmen were instructed on exactly what to say and even what to do while saying it. For example, an asterisk in the script meant the salesman should point to the register.

Reminds us of Jordan Belfort sales scripts used by Stratton Oakmont. Clear, concise, and covers every scenario of the sales process.

2. The Four-Step Sale 🪜

The N.C.R. Primer broke the sale down into four key steps:

Approach: No mention of the cash register. Only focus on ways they could help the business owner increase profit and act as a ‘consultant’.
Proposition: Introduce the cash register and how it helps prevent fraud and increase revenue. The goal here was to get a demo scheduled (Not much has changed in 100+ years. 😅 )
Demonstration: Show off the product. What it does and how it helps.
Close: Ask for the sale.

3. Subtle Pressure 🎚️

Patterson trained his salesmen to apply pressure in a ‘subtle’ way. The goal was to guide the prospects to the sale without making them feel manipulated.

One of the key tactic’s John trained his reps to use was the ‘assumed close’. Instead of asking for the order, the salesman would say, "Mr. Bob, what color should I make it?" or "How soon do you want delivery?".

The assumed close is still used (and works) to this day.

Will that be cash or credit?
When would you like to get started?
Who should I make the invoice out to?

The Payoff 🤑

John’s sales strategies took the National Cash Register Company from a failure to a wild success. John passed away in 1922, but NCR went on to be acquired by AT&T in 1991, and then broke off to its own entity called NCR Voyix, which currently trades on the stock market under ticker VYX.

NCR has come a long way from its humble beginnings of selling cash registers.