O'Hare / O'Hanlon

I got my first sales job right out of school. My degree was in television production and I wanted to end up on the creative side of the business, but when I was offered a full-time role as an advertising AE in the local cable production department where I had interned, I took it. I had zero idea how to do what they’d hired me for, though. And the production manager who hired me had no idea how I should do it either.

They put an ad on tv that invited businesses to call if they wanted to advertise, and it worked, so I had a few leads, but beyond that I had a desk, a phone, a phone book (there, I’ve dated myself!) and no clue how to find or interact with potential customers.

Fortunately, in the marketing department down the hall there was a door marked Sales Manager, and behind that door, sat Ed O’Hare. Ed ran sales and marketing for the cable system, and when a clueless twenty-something knocked on his door, he rose to the occasion and shared advice that I wrote on a Post-it and kept on my desk for the next 10 years.?

“Sales is easy- there are only three rules. First, get them to like you.? If they like you, they’ll buy from you. Even if you’re selling cancer, they’ll buy from you.”

“Second, tell the truth about what you’re offering. Tell the same story to everyone you meet with. People are smart and they’ll know if they’re being treated fairly.”

“And finally, do what you say you’re going to do.? If you say you are going to send them something, send it to them. If you say you’re going to follow up, follow up.”

Nothing about knowing your product, nothing about how to find customers that need what you’re selling, nothing about how to write a proposal or how to figure out who the decision-maker really is in a business, no suggestions to bring snacks, not even the idea that if you find something likeable about someone most of the time they’ll find something likeable about you - just three very basic – and colorfully put - instructions.

But those three rules, along with second-hand copies of Harvey Mackay’s Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, the many lessons I learned from my customers themselves, and hard work and a lot of luck, got me through my first year.

And then the advertising gods smiled, and our tiny operation was taken over by an actual experienced advertising sales manager based in a cable system a couple of hours away.?

Maureen O’Hanlon (now Lang) came in, listened very politely when I told her about the three rules that had helped me sell thirty-dollar ads to realtors and used car dealers and pizzerias, and said, “You know, you would probably have more success if you added a fourth rule about asking for the order.” And that helped a lot.

There have been many other sales managers, trainers, clients, and colleagues (and in the last few years, folks here on LinkedIn) who've been teachers, but O’Hare and O’Hanlon were my first, and I'm glad to put their rules on paper again.

Kathy 11/20/2024