the happy loser's first sale [the secrets of sales success]

at a party this past weekend i was afforded the opportunity to converse with some friends from high school. of course, inevitably, the subject of selling out came about. this makes perfect sense because most of us are two years removed from undergrad and out in the world or contemplating/finishing graduate school programs. debt and school loans hang leery. my younger brother talked about the choices he had for picking the right law school. another friend explained the $80k per annum pricetag for georgetown law. "suckers.." i thought to myself. im gonna hustle this insurance thing into this empire ive been bullshitting about.. first i've got to close my first deal. "lol."

ever wonder about the psychology of salespersons?? i definitely have. ive found some literature that gives pretty good insight as to the why sales is for me:

Explain the term happy loser.

Salespeople sometimes say to me, "I don't like that you call me a loser." But that's not what I mean. Happy losers are people who see rejection as a challenge. If 95 percent of the time you are rejected, you have to ask yourself, "Why did I choose this kind of life?" The happy loser likes it because 5 percent of the time, he wins. And all those times he loses, he sees as getting to the win.

How did you arrive at the happy-loser archetype?

We always go back to the first imprint: to the first experience in a person's life when he or she creates a mental reference. So we asked salesmen about their first experiences selling -- as children with a lemonade stand or trying to persuade their parents that they don't want to go to school. With the first experience, they feel strong emotion, and emotion is absolutely key to producing the neurotransmitters in the brain that create mental connections. The first time they are rejected is very powerful. What we find with good salespeople is that that first no stimulated them. It didn't make them want to give up. It made them want to find another way.

i knew that i had a bit of masochistic tendencies in my body. im a bit of a glutton for pain/rejection. ask the girl im courting who lives 5000 miles away. anyhow, ive got a few meetings this week. i should open some accounts and close some deals. i am excited.

Beatnik: “You’re in advertising… How do you sleep at night?”
Don Draper: “On a bed made of money.”