The Influencer Trainee

This is my last week on the other side of the world so I’ll share some one more writing from one of my books.

Today’s post comes from my third book, The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness. This book is a business parable that follows the life of John Andrews, and ordinary person who becomes and extraordinary influencer. Here you’ll read about his time as a trainee on his first job out of college.

The Trainee

Although John enjoyed the two months off between graduation and starting his first job, he was chomping at the bit to begin this new phase of life. College had been fun but by the time he was a senior he’d had his fill of campus life and everything that goes with it. Seeing friends who’d started their careers made him a bit envious. They had new cars, nice apartments, and some were traveling.

It was mid-July when John walked into MediTech headquarters as a trainee. The front of the three-story building was mostly glass and the morning sun lit up the entire lobby, giving a pleasant feel to start the day. The workday started at 8:00 a.m. but the trainees were told to arrive at 8:30 a.m. so everything would be ready for their first day. The atmosphere of the corporate headquarters was exciting and a little overwhelming initially. There was a buzz about the place as people hurried to and from meetings. Despite the hectic pace it was a friendly atmosphere as people walked by and said hello to one another.

The company put him and five other sales trainees up in apartments for three months. They would all go through an eight-week training program then spend a month shadowing various salespeople before getting their territory assignments. John’s assignment could land him anywhere in the country and he was excited about the possibilities. He’d spent his entire life in the Midwest and wanted to see more of the country.

The training would focus on teaching him and the others about the industry, the company, their products and services, their ideal customers, and basic selling skills.

While three months of training seemed like it would be a long time, especially from the perspective of a 22-year-old, it flew by. Everything was new – the city, the company, the people he met, the places he went, what he was learning – and that seemed to speed up everything. John and the other trainees felt like they were drinking from a firehose. At least in college there were breaks between classes, but this learning was 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. followed by at least an hour of study every night. He felt like a whole year of college was crammed into those few months of training.

Fortunately, John loved everything about the experience. Unlike many college courses, he knew what he was learning at MediTech would be directly applicable to his role as a sales rep. Just as he’d done with his Psych 101 course, John wrote down the highlights of what he was learning. This time he used yellow sticky notes that he strategically placed around his apartment and office. They served as visual reminders of what he needed to keep front and center. Below is what stood out to John. What he wrote on his sticky notes are in italicized font followed by his interpretation of the message.

• Is this a career or just a job? He needed to decide because there was a big difference. Approaching his new role at MediTech as a career, not just a job, was as different as approaching something as a passion instead of a hobby. He knew he would pour more time, energy, and effort into a passion over a hobby. Knowing that, he decided he would view his work as a career, not some job he took just to pay the bills.
• If you don’t believe in your company, why should anyone else? If you can’t look a prospective customer in the eye and confidently tell them you believe you’re their best option, why would they ever place their business with you? No company is perfect and sometimes you have to acknowledge a competitor might be the right choice. That kind of integrity will win you more business than you lose.
• The customer isn’t always right and that’s why they need a good salesperson. This one shocked John because it went against the old adage that the customer was always right. Then he realized, how can anyone always be right? Especially in the absence of all the information? A prospective customer will never know as much about your company, your products and services, or competitors as a good salesperson. This understanding can be used to gently show prospects there might be a better way than they’re currently considering.
• “Selling is the process of persuading a person that your product or service is of greater value to him or her than the price you’re asking for it.” John heard this quote from sales guru Brian Tracy used several times in the sales training. It made sense because it reminded him of what he’d learned about the science of influence in that psych class during his freshman year of college. Persuasion was the underpinning of selling.
• People prefer to do business with people they like. This also took him back to that psych class. He remembered his likability was a big reason he got the job offers. He was beginning to realize what he learned in the class was the secret for dealing with people and selling.
• “Yes!” is critical for your professional success and personal happiness. John knew success in sales was contingent on getting customers to say yes. He also saw that getting to yes was critical to get the company to adopt any new ideas he might come up with. On a personal level he knew he’d never get a date without hearing yes first.

While John learned much more during the first two months of training, these pearls of wisdom stood out from the rest.

Interesting in read more about John Andrews and his journey to become an influence master? Click here to order you copy of The Influencer.

Brian Ahearn

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE and a faculty member at the Cialdini Institute. An author, TEDx presenter, international speaker, coach, and consultant, Brian helps clients apply influence in everyday situations to boost results.

As one of only a dozen Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, Brian was personally trained and endorsed by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by Book Authority. Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents was an Amazon new release bestseller. The Influencer, is a business parable designed to teach you how to use influence in everyday situations.

Brian’s LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by over 750,000 people around the world and his TEDx Talk on pre-suasion has more than a million views!