The Sales History Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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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.

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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

Our version of sales recruiting, sales training, dedicated territories, quotas, salary + variable compensation plans, even sales kickoffs all began between 1890-1920.  The process designs, compensation strategies, and almost all of the selling methodologies are based on this foundational approach - which, for the most part, I’d argue has been correct. Sure, people argued for change, but the core has been the core.

In today's episode, I take you through the "why", inject some wisdom from the great Arthur Sheldon, and take you to an exploration of why we may need to shift going forward. Those cores have changed, in ways you maybe haven't thought about.  

@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 a number of 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

Salesman's "Creeds" - There was a concept that started popping up around 1905, spreading to individual companies, industries, and eventually to entire cities by the 1910s. Established to change the perception of the sales profession. these "creeds" defined a core set of beliefs every salesperson should have in taking goods to market.

In this episode, we'll talk through what these creeds were, why they were developed, how they were used, and how the concept is suddenly springing up again today.

@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 a number of 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

Support the show

Send us a text

It's the story for so many - great at selling, promoted into leadership without training or a holistic understanding of what the role actually is. 

In today's episode, I share a parable written by Worthington C. Holman in 1909 about a medieval military leader named Dunderblitzen Von Shoosh. I loved this story so much, I had to share it...along with lessons for today.

@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 a number of 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

I went digging...into the origins of email as a communication medium. Along the way, I found a ton of really interesting timeline milestones that are amazing, interesting, and in some cases pretty funny.

So, in this episode, we explore those milestones - from invention to the CAN-SPAM act, and how we really haven't fixed a whole lot along the way.

Here's the article I reference - with a full timeline with resources, links & pictures: https://toddcaponi.com/history-of-email-in-sales-and-marketing/
@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 a number of 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

Sales compensation plans - where did they come from? How did they evolve to where they are today? Are there lessons we can learn from their origins we can apply today to make our plans more of what they are meant to be?

In today's episode, I take you back as far as 1914 to learn about the types of quotas, the mistakes they acknowledged in 1918, and the lessons from the 1920s about compensation plan design that are possible things to consider even today.

@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 a number of 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

Can you imagine - a profession so deplorable that those in it were rounded up and murdered? As crazy as it sounds, I found that it actually happened during the Roman Empire B.C.

In an incredible find, I uncovered a sales history well over 2,000 years old where money was prioritized over virtue - in a way we still see today. In today's episode, I tell the story, with quotes from the great philosophers and poets from the final two centuries B.C.

@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 a number of 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

Support the show

Send us a text

If sales has changed so much, why haven't the #salestips? Reading a collection of the top sales tips in 1913 - and I swear I was reading a collection of the top sales tips today. There's no conflict...at all.

What's presented as revelation today on all of the socials are fundamentally the same through the eras of selling, so in today's episode, I share them. Worthington C. Holman's 9 things a successful salesperson must do, from System Magazine's February of 1913 edition.

And given that Holman was an artist with his words...they're even better back then!

@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 a number of 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

There's a direct correlation between the difficulty of the selling environment and the need for optimized sales management. There was a lag between the modernization of sales and the modernization of sales management. In this episode, we track that evolution...from the 1900s through after the lesser-known depression of the early 1920s. 

The amazing thing - the lessons they learned 100 years ago, we still often ignore today. Let's dig in...

@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 a number of 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

Support the show