What I Learned about Training by putting my head through a windshield

I graduated from college with a shiny new degree that I thought would take me far. It took me to central New York State to a radio station at the top of a mountain.

On day 1, my new manager shared the station's staff drama, of which there was a ton, and gave me a cassette tape as training. He also sent me out for one day of shadowing his most successful salesperson, who got himself an ice cream cone after each close. He was a large man, so I assumed he was successful.

The tape wasn't all bad. One of its lessons has been a valuable touchpoint throughout my career…"Don’t tell me what I can’t do until after I have tried." I also learned that regular ice cream rewards were a bad idea for a salesperson who was very good at his job ... there was the distinct possibility of negative side effects of that success.

With my newfound knowledge, I set out on my sales career. Within a week, I closed my first deal. Binghamton/Johnson City Monuments. What, a headstone store? Yes, with my knowledge of the tell-me-sell-me technique I had learned on my cassette tape training, I asked question upon question until my great knowledge had me offer him just the right advertising program to sell to the nearly dead. This was also my first lesson on how to target the folks that will benefit from what you are offering. My station programmed the Music Of Your Life format, a lovely mix of the ’30s and 40’s music truly targeting an audience of a certain age.

My next sale came quickly. This one was to a tire repair store. The manager was a young guy - and no cassette tape could have prepared me for this sales call. After I sold them a year sponsorship of the traffic reports at a 10% discount for committing to a year, I proudly went back to my manager to share the BIG news. In a loud voice that at the time seemed like yelling, he told me I had no right to cut the price without his permission. By the way, the 10% was only 1 dollar (commercials were cheaper back then). He sent me back to the owner, who was not as friendly as the manager, to tell him that he had to pay me the extra dollar for each commercial. There was no mistaking his tone for yelling, and certainly asking me to leave his business was very clear as well.

I left and promptly rear-ended another car, thrusting my chin into the steering wheel and my head through the windshield. 

This lesson was not lost on me for the rest of the career.

· Train and coach your team 

· So they know your product

· So they are powerful in the field

· They are aware of pricing limitations or know what benefits are for a donation at a certain level

Teach your team lessons without breaking their spirit…Be a leader and coach who teaches them, not chastises them

Find a positive in each situation, especially with new people, to drive home what they did that was correct - their ears would be more open to coaching

Always remember there is NO sale/commitment worth smashing up your car (or head) to close

If you are interested in Sales Training for Non-profit Development teams- reach out and check out our Website www.TeamKatandMouse.com or Email me at

[email protected]

Team Kat & Mouse are consultants for nonprofits and coaches dedicated to the successful funding our your mission.