Following Breadcrumbs –– Selling Like A Journalist

Selling at an early stage is like following a trail of breadcrumbs. You try to make something out of almost nothing. 

In many ways, this is similar to investigative journalism. Prior to getting into sales, I worked at a large tabloid newspaper. 

I learned to craft stories from small pieces of evidence, cold-called people to verify them, then multiplied these. In the end, I was able to piece together clues for the big picture.

Early-stage selling is no different––as is selling to large accounts, which is like entering a mini territory. 

Your CRM opportunities are like tiny chess boards, full of people and details. Your goal is to add more grains to the board.

Want to see a master class on this?

Then watch what might be the best sales movie ever made, in my opinion: "All the President’s Men" from 1976, a true story about how two journalists brought down an American president. It's also an excellent book.

I’ll leave you with the famous piece of advice from their secret informant: “Follow the money."