The first rule of sales: A lesson from my big brother, Greg

I love the quote from one of my favourite books, The Abundant Community, when a Grandma says, “That boy has the energy of two children.” Well, my older brother, Greg, had the energy of twenty children (he still does!)

The school system in the 1980s and 1990s wasn’t designed for people like my brother. Maybe it’s still not. As a result, he was in the bottom sets for most things, which can only harm a child’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth.

The great irony and sadness is that all children are uniquely gifted; it just doesn’t always fit within the government’s curriculum.

Despite Greg leaving school with one GSCE in cooking, he has gone on to become one of the most valued, adored, and capable people in his field. And I was blessed to witness his talent aged just seven years old.

See, Greg was always an entrepreneur. One summer, aged just nine years old, he declared we would start a car washing business. We made ‘business cards’ for Western Washers (unbelievably, my mum still had a copy of one of our business cards!)

We posted the cards through letterboxes in our neighbourhood in Essex and walked the streets with our buckets, sponges, shammy, and washing-up liquid, knocking on door after door after door.

I was always nervous and shy, but that didn’t matter, as Greg did all of the talking.

He created a confident pitch and a price. Some days, we’d knock on thirty doors and not get one bit of business—rejection after rejection after rejection. Sometimes, people were even rude to us.

But Greg insisted we prevail. 

I am sure most of the sales were pity sales! I mean, why would you trust two kids to wash your car!?

But when someone did say yes, we worked hard and did a good job. We even got some repeat business.

We once got close to washing the car of legendary England and Manchester United right-back Paul Parker. Still, alas, we didn’t quite win that business.

33 years on, Greg continues to work in sales and is still making 30 calls a day.

He leads a team of salespeople who love him and learn from his formidable sales craftsmanship. Together, they run a multi-million-pound business unit.

Sales is about many things, but Greg taught me that it begins with persistence: the quality or state of continuing to do something despite difficulties or opposition.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day, and happy selling.

Benjamin