From the field
Strategy Joe’s
Sales Stories.
Real deals, real teams, real lessons. Each story ends with what it taught.
Story 01 · 1967 · Age 8This Is What Started It AllAn eight-year-old in a suit, trading coins at mall shows. The first lessons that lasted six decades.
Story 02 · Late 1990sThe Awards Ceremony on Wall StreetA Senior VP at a Fortune 50 firm, a stage, and why it’s fine to politely decline an honor.
Story 03 · 1977Why a $150 Commission Beat a $600 CommissionThe Ford Escort lesson high-ticket sellers keep missing.
Story 04 · 1975 · Age 15The Sales Lesson That Didn’t FitMy first shoe-selling job taught me not to accept everything a trainer presents as fact.
Story 05 · Late 1980sThe Five Amigos50 new agents. One tough product. Five salesmen left standing.
Story 06 · 1993The Ad That Started a DecadeOne tiny help-wanted ad from Shearson Lehman, and a multiple seven-figure decade.
Story 07 · 2020 · Two partsThe Team That Set the StandardScript readers who became world-class transfer agents, and a team that became family.
Story 08 · Late 1970s · Age 19The PawnshopNegotiation is asking the right question at the right time, holding eye contact, and letting silence do its work.
Story 09 · Mid 1980s · Age 26The Advertising Job I’d Dreamed OfReal life was a different story: no internet, no social media, no cell phones, and plenty to navigate.