The Sales History Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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Picture this. A sales conference featuring the then-sitting president of the United States as the keynote speaker. It happened in July of 1916. 

It wasn’t because the president had nothing going on that day, happened to be in town, and decided to swing by.  A world war was raging in Europe. What we now know as World War 1.

It was because Woodrow Wilson had an important message for the sales world that day. It was the United States' opportunity to establish itself as a world superpower…and it depended largely on salespeople to make it happen. He had four lessons he wanted every salesperson to hear clearly and embrace. 

It was the most significant sales keynote speech of all time… these are the lessons.

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

COMING IN JANUARY OF 2026 - Four Levers Negotiating - chock full of history quotes, too...pre-order now. 

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This may sound crazy, but I truly believe that government legislation has had a larger impact on changing the sales profession than has technology or the proliferation of information available to buyers. 

Legislation changed things more significantly. Legislation changed things faster. 

The sales profession has consistently pushed the boundaries since the 19th century, driven by greed, and it is the government that has created the rules by which we've all had to play. In this episode, I take you through those significant pieces of legislation and how they immediately and wholly changed the way we sell. 

(Lots of research went into this episode...hope you enjoy it!)

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

COMING IN JANUARY OF 2026 - Four Levers Negotiating - chock full of history quotes, too...pre-order now. 

Support the show

Send us a text

What would it be like to be a salesperson during a World War? Well, it's happened twice, and in this episode, we explore the lens by which salespeople were asked to do their jobs during World War I. 

It's an incredible example of selling with a higher purpose beyond just hitting a quota and receiving a commission check...

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

COMING IN JANUARY OF 2026 - Four Levers Negotiating - chock full of history quotes, too...pre-order now. 

Support the show

Support the show

Send us a text

In the January 1918 edition of Business Philosopher Magazine, a story by William W. Woodbridge was printed. It's the story of a down-and-out salesperson, John Bradford, who essentially fired himself! 

It’s a story of getting right with yourself. I fell in love with it, and wanted to share it with you.

"Bradford, you're fired!"

@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 includes several quotes and lessons from past sales.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us a text

The beginnings of the modern sales profession (1890-1920) were associated with trust, respect, and even admiration. 100 years later, the sales profession sits at the bottom of Gallup's annual listings of ethical professions...along with politicians.

What happened? Where did it all go wrong?

I put my finger on it. In this episode, I diagnose the specific period where it all went bad, explore the many justifications and debates around high-pressure versus low-pressure selling, and why we may still have hope to return to those trusted roots.

@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 includes several quotes and lessons from past sales.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us a text

Some individuals from sales history moved mountains - and nobody knows about them today! This time, I wanted to highlight one from the 1970s & 1980s - Barbara Pletcher. She noticed a void in the development of women for the boardroom, and it started with sales skills.

I found her story really compelling. The way she thought about raising the bar for all is brilliant. Here's her story...

@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 includes several quotes and lessons from past sales.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us a text

The way we live today wasn't defined just via the invention itself. Things like the steam engine, telegraph, reaper, highways, the telephone, the automobile...and just about every other revolutionary advancement was met with extreme skepticism. They all HAD TO BE SOLD.  The incredible inventors had to be ingenious salespeople, too.

Here are their stories. 

In this episode, which I really enjoyed researching, I take you through the stories of so many things we just assume have always been around - and must have sold themselves...but didn't.

@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 includes several quotes and lessons from past sales.
The Transparency Sale - the first book, (ironically) named one of the top 100 sales books of all time.

Support the show

Send us a text

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.

Support the show

Send us a text

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.

Support the show

Send us a text

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