Conference 7.286::digital

3080.0. "Depths of a Salesman" by POCUS::HUSTON () Wed May 18 1994 18:52

    The New York Times Book Review of May 15 reviewed "The Force" by
    David Dorsey. It profiles the life of a salesman as reflected in the
    day-to-day struggle of some Cleveland Xerox salespeople. Xerox gave the
    author complete access to the Cleveland operation. I remember a string
    in here a few months ago about the great sales training at Xerox, but 
    couldn't find it. But here are some interesting excerpts of how sales
    works -- at least in one Xerox office.
    
    --------------------
    
    Mr. Dorsey describes life at Xerox as an air-conditioned hell. Though
    their salaries can reach six figures, salesmen and managers are under
    constant pressure to exceed their always-rising annual quotas to the
    level of the "President's Club," thereby winning a brief sojourn to
    Palm Springs. Not "making trip" means that the year is a failure, and
    is a permanent black mark on the record...By the end of the year the
    salesman are "walking wounded" -- throwing up on sales calls, suffering
    stress-related ailments like eczema or colitis, or just plain going
    bonkers. One angrily tosses a frozen turkey down a flight of stairs.
    Another takes a chain saw to the family Christmas tree.
    
    Certainly the central figure in the book, a sales manager named Fred
    Thomas, has been emotionally scarred by the job. He has made trip nine
    years in a row and is terrified that his streak will end. He ruthlessly
    goads his reps, on the theory that they will sell better if their
    composure cracks (one threatens to shoot him). His wife and family play
    a poor second fiddle to Xerox, and Mr. Thomas deals with the situation
    by manipulating them as if they were customers. For instance, he
    impresses his son with birthday tickets to a basketball game, not
    mentioning that the seats were leftover sales perks lifted from his
    boss's desk.
    
    Mr. Dorsey's writing reaches its peak in an exemplary description of
    how a desperate Fred Thomas finally makes trip by literally backing his
    vacillating victim into a corner, making him sign a contract he
    apparently does not understand...:
    
    "Slowly, Fred backs Bob across the lobby, edging him closer to the
    conference room behind them, the way one person pushes another person
    across a room at a cocktail party simply by shifting his foothold bit
    by bit, shrinking the comfort zone, forcing the conversational partner
    to keep retreating to restore his airspace.  By the time they reach the
    conference room, Fred has closed Robinson 20 times already, each step
    bring Robinson closer to a complete surrender".
    
    ------------------------------
    
    And that's just Cleveland. I'd hate to meet the Xerox rep in New York City.
    

    
    My father's next-door neighbor was a Xerox salesman.  From some of the
    comments he made in years past over the backyard fence, the scenario
    in .0 rings quite true.
    
    Another horror show I've heard about is Oracle, but that is another
    story.
    
    Steve
    

    
    I've gotta get that book. I heard it was good, but now I'm
    totally smitten. I work hard, and I put in extra hours,
    but there are some things I just won't do.  How sad for
    those people.
    
    I can recommend a movie (Glenngarry Glen Ross -- I think) with
    Al Pacino. It's about some broken down real estate salesmen
    and the depths they sink to.  What a world.
    
    Glenn

    I saw that on Broadway a few years back.  Great production.
    I hope the movie lives up to the play.
    
    The only parallel I saw to the Digital Sales Force is all
    the cussin' and swearin', which mostly happens when they
    try to work within our administrative systems.
    
    Dan
    Sales Support

    
    
    Clark Griswold eh?
    

    Check out "A Shock to the System" with Michael Caine.  
    It's about a businessman who removes obstacles(people)
    who stand in the way of his success.  Literally.

    "Chronicles of Doodah", written by a an ex-speechwriter for Ford,
    Iacocca, and others is excellent satire.

    There is an excerpt from the book in Esquire (last month's issue).  

    
    You're KIDDING!  That's been out of print for years and I loved it!
    Why did Esquire have an excerpt from it?  Is it back in print?  Any
    other info would be appreciated, thanks!
    
    							Tex

    The excerpt was from The Force, which was just published this month.