Life of a Salesman
The Washington Post brings to our attention David T. Fagan, father of eight and author of Guerrilla Parenting. (link) There are people you disagree with, but respect or like. There are others who share many opinions with you, yet still irritate you. I see value in how Fagan describes the rearing of his children: instilling self-reliance and industry, willingness to chart an independent path, not idolizing formal education, but he annoys me, and the most compact explanation why is that he is a salesman.
Let me clarify that I recognize sales as a necessary economic function. I’ve seen situations when contracts weren’t coming in, the budget got thin, and people capable of producing good work were more abundant than needed. Finding customers and arranging to meet their needs is a productive service. Skill in the art of promotion, though, can also lend itself to the exercise of self-promotion and skimming off an outsized portion of the value of customers and companies doing business.
I see that repellant quality in David T. Fagan, or at least imagine I do. He’s not merely a salesman; he’s moved on from selling cell phones to selling salesmanship itself. He can’t imagine success that doesn’t involve hustling. Developing skills and knowledge other than those needed to work the crowd has little meaning for him. Even this foray into the world of parenting advice seems largely or mostly aimed at keeping the David T. Fagan Guerrilla brand in view. If he were my son, I would do my best to love him and hide my embarrassment at how shallow he turned out.
Filed under: There are monkey-boys in the facility | No Tag
Bruce Charlton
October 29, 2014
I get the same feeling from almost all ‘best selling’ non-fiction – these ‘books’ come across as primarily marketing. There is no distinctive authorial voice – the writing has been edited to within an inch of its life. The result is advertising copy, not prose.
Vader
October 29, 2014
In economics, things work best when the incentive structure confronting participants in a particular activity tends to maximize the social benefit of that activity.
It’s amazing how good the invisible hand is at doing this. But it’s not perfect, which is why I am only libertarian-leaning, and not a radical libertarian.
The social benefit of salesmen is that they reduce some important transaction costs. However, their bottom line is making sales. The two are not always completely compatible, hence statutes against fraud, false advertizing, and so on.
But information technology is rapidly overtaking salesmen as a means of reducing transaction costs. So the issue will soon be moot, and pure salesmen will soon be obligated to learn other skills.
Oh. Boy
October 29, 2014
Out of curiosity, what business are you disdainers in? I’m no salesman, in the traditional sense, but I work with salesmen, and recognize good ones are worth 10x their weight in gold, literally, to my company.
They’ll never be replaced by technology and they are anything but shallow. What is clearly shallow is the understanding of sales and the people building relationships, understanding customer needs and designing programs which benefit their customers.
If all you know of salesmen is the living scripture guy or the cell phone guy or the pest control guy you know nothing of sales.
Salesmen are vital in so many industries. It would seem the direct to consumer industry is what you are thinking of. But how does everything from wine to custom machine parts for a mine get sold at the b2b level? Hint, the buyers aren’t googling or looking on amazon.
[Ed. — excellent contribution to the thread. See Vader’s response below for some clarification.]
John Mansfield
October 30, 2014
“Oh, Boy,” see the second paragraph in the post to which you are responding for recognition of the vital business need for salesmen and the useful service they ideally perform. Then read the interview linked in the first paragraph, and see if you don’t recognize the observations made in the third paragraph.
Archimedes
October 30, 2014
*I work with salesmen, and recognize good ones are worth 10x their weight in gold*
I could tell you how much water their worth would displace, if only I knew the Weight of a Salesman.
MC
October 30, 2014
I’m less bothered by this particular salesman, than by a haunting vision of the future: where most production is done by robots, we’re all living on a government direct deposit, and the only way to make money is to persuade people that you can help them make money.
bookslinger
October 31, 2014
MC, I’d like to sell you a book that reveals the secrets of the people who make money by claiming they can help others make money. Place your order now and you can receive the pre-publication discount.