Philip Delves Broughton > Quotes

“the best salespeople are very insecure. They passionately want success because they think it’ll make them a different person. Then they achieve success and it dawns on them they haven’t changed at all. What drives salespeople is a need for celebrity. They think that once they’re successful, everyone’s opinion of them will change, and if they can change everyone’s opinion of them, they’ll change themselves. Then they succeed, and realize they haven’t changed at all.” For both the successes and failures, there is the endless rejection, the long line of people saying in so many words “I don’t want you, I don’t want what you have, I don’t want you in my life.” If nothing else, selling is an endless confrontation with truth, the truth about yourself and about others. It is raw and uncomfortable and personally exposing”
― Philip Delves Broughton, The Art of the Sale: Learning from the Masters About the Business of Life

“Here lies the challenge in finding good salespeople. You need excellent empathizers who aren't so empathetic they can't close a sale. And you need people with strong ego needs who can still take a moment to figure out what another person wants. They must be aggressive enough to close, but not so aggressive they put people off. Too much empathy and you'll be a nice guy finishing last. Too much ego drive and you'll be scorching earth everywhere you go. Not enough of either and you shouldn't be in sales at all. It's a miracle anyone can do this job.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, The Art of the Sale

“Selling is hard to teach because it is about what exists in your head and what goes on in your whole life. The objective in sales becomes the same as that in the rest of your life, to respect others and do best for them. Then you don't have to be a salesperson about what you do. Selling becomes an activity consistent with who you are. (From Mrs. Shibata the top salesperson in Japan)”
― Philip Delves Broughton, The Art of the Sale

“The moment you resolve to do something, you should do it.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, Life's a Pitch: What the World's Best Sales People Can Teach Us All

“The first was the foundation of accounting: Assets=Liabilities + Equity. The second mantra was: Accounting=Economic truth + Measurement error + Bias.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School

“It felt like one of those movies where a bunch of misfits, each gifted in his own way - one in explosives, another in disguise, another in forgery or karate- are thrown together to achieve a dangerous mission.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, What They Teach You at Harvard Business School

“I once heard a church sermon in which the priest said you could tell most of what you needed to know about a person from looking at their bank and credit card statements. How they prioritize their spending will tell you how they prioritize their life. So it was with companies.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School

“My general rule is to be gullible.I'm not constantly calculating,looking for the dark side.I am always looking for the bright side.Even if someone's bullshitting me,I give them the benefit of the doubt.I trust people and move on.Sometimes you'll be wrong.But people who do it the other way are missing the good part of life.”
― Philip Delves Broughton, Life's a Pitch: What the World's Best Sales People Can Teach Us All