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The Sales History Podcast

The Sales History Podcast

Todd Caponi

Bringing the incredible (and sometimes strange) brains from the profession of sales' past to the 2020's - from Todd Caponi, author of The Transparency Sale & The Transparent Sales Leader.

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Top 10 The Sales History Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Sales History Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Sales History Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Sales History Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Sales History Podcast - The Nine Traits of a Successful 1913 (and current) Salesperson
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03/23/23 • 12 min

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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.

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The Sales History Podcast - Don't Be A Dunderblitzen - a Sales Leadership Parable from 1909
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06/20/23 • 16 min

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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.

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The Sales History Podcast - Using History to Predict - The Future of Sales
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03/15/22 • 13 min

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If the saying "if we don't know history, are we doomed to repeat it" is true, then why can't we use history to also predict the future? In this episode, I attempt to do just that. "Buyers know more nowadays" isn't just a quote from LinkedIn today, but also from a sales book in 1912! More information hasn't meant the demise of the profession - it's created more of a need for it!
With this in mind, let's dissect the past to predict the future!

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The Sales History Podcast - An "AMA" (Ask Me Anything) Circa 1906

An "AMA" (Ask Me Anything) Circa 1906

The Sales History Podcast

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04/26/22 • 19 min

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With Ask Me Anything's (AMAs) being all the rage today, there was a similar outlet for salespeople...in 1906! Via Salesmanship Magazine, every month, salespeople from around the country were encouraged to send in their questions. Experts fielded those questions and provided their answers.
In today's episode, we explore four "queries" from that year.
1) A question about a sales pursuit and the associated expenses
2) A question about prospecting - getting in, and what to say
3) A job search question for an individual struggling to find a sales job in a new city
4) A precarious situation where the answer is...you guessed it...TRANSPARENCY!
@saleshistorian

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The Sales History Podcast - An Interview With A Top Performer - From The Early 1900's
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09/07/21 • 22 min

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The best podcasts give you access to top performers; salespeople, leaders & influencers, right? But, how about a top performer...from 100+ years ago?!?
This week I've got a special episode for you - where I (fake) interview Norval Hawkins (1867-1936), known as the greatest salesperson to ever work for Ford, whom Henry Ford himself referred to as "my million dollar man". Hawkin's writing is profound, just thinking about things differently - but incredibly applicable to today.
So, in this interview, I play the role of podcast interviewer, and I play the role of Norval Hawkins, answering the questions using his own thoughts from ~ 100 years ago.
If you have feedback, let's hear it! Reach out via www.toddcaponi.com, connect on LinkedIn, or follow on Instagram or Twitter @SalesHistorian, where I post daily with quotes from sales history's past.

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The question: Where did the qualification construct BANT come from? In looking for the answer, I realized something...
Sales processes of the early 20th century? All buyer-focused steps - what is the buyer doing?
Sales processes since the 1950's, when BANT came around? All seller-focused, all the way down to our CRM stages.
To be truly buyer-focused, shouldn't our processes & measures be housed in recognizing buyer behavior?

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Many view the past-10-plus-the-next-10-years as a period where technology is and will completely change the sales profession. But if we use history as a guide, where technology was changing an awful lot more than it is today, salespeople will ruin it again. The rise of the telephone, email, even LinkedIn...may have done more harm than good for a profession reliant on its reputation.
In this look back at the rise of technology-enabled sales from the advent of the telephone, we explore the lessons learned from sales' past as our filter for selecting the sales technologies we leverage in the future.

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The Sales History Podcast - The Origin of "Drummers" & "Bagmen" - The 1800's
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08/03/21 • 13 min

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Are you responsible for "drumming up business" in your role? Do you "carry a bag" as a salesperson? Do you know where those terms come from? They come from the traveling salespeople of the 1800s. In today's episode, I tell their story - of the hard-drinking, back-slapping "Drummer" - and of the horseback riding "Bagmen" - what it was like to be one, and where those terms came from.
@SalesHistorian on Twitter or Instagram

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The Sales History Podcast - The Origin of Sales Quotas & Variable Compensation
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08/17/21 • 19 min

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Sales compensation - commission-only until the 1900's. And, for good reason. You wouldn't pay a rep you rarely see a salary, right? Sales are face-to-face. Travel is slow, there's no real-time distance communication, and no CRM system, so it's what you did. Sell something, get paid - a lot. Don't sell something, don't get paid.
The birth of salary+commission changed that, and inspired the need for quotas. In this episode, we track that progression, the original purpose of a quota, and how we've convoluted that purpose over time.
Maybe we should consider going back?

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The Sales History Podcast - The Top 5 Sales Follows - From 1922

The Top 5 Sales Follows - From 1922

The Sales History Podcast

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04/12/22 • 19 min

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Wondering what sales influencers would be the best follows for you on LinkedIn? Well, in today's episode, I give you that list - but from 100 years ago! The dawn of modern sales took place in the early 1900s - the individuals each left an indelible mark on all of YOUR sales careers - even today.
So let's explore - the Top Five Sales Follows from 100 years ago...
#5 - Noval Hawkins - "The greatest salesperson in the history of Ford Motor Company" & multi-time sales author
#4 - Lucinda W. Prince - THE pioneer for women in sales
#3 - Worthington C. Holman - Co-authored the first NCR sales manual, multi time author, publisher, editor and quote machine
#2 - Dr. Orison S. Marden - the GOAT of business philosophers, who "has had children named after the titles of his books"
#1 - Arthur Sheldon - the GOAT of sales philosophers, who, when he died in 1935 was referred to as "THE philosopher of selling"

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Sales History Podcast have?

The Sales History Podcast currently has 45 episodes available.

What topics does The Sales History Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Marketing, Management, Podcasts and Business.

What is the most popular episode on The Sales History Podcast?

The episode title 'Using History to Predict - The Future of Sales' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Sales History Podcast?

The average episode length on The Sales History Podcast is 16 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Sales History Podcast released?

Episodes of The Sales History Podcast are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of The Sales History Podcast?

The first episode of The Sales History Podcast was released on Jun 8, 2021.

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