Tim Roberts

Recently, I found myself absorbed with the notion of influence. I wondered aloud who the great influencers of our time are, then wondered further how each had reached their influential positions. A voice in the room, that of a top trusted advisor, shot back, "The number-one salesman in the world is a kid who wants ice cream!" We laughed.. Yet buried in that answer was delicious truth.

"Dump the jute, man, on the burning ground." Van Morrison serves that to us in a song called "The Burning Ground." I'm rarely sure what he's singing but you can count on whatever it is to be unique. I dig that. All hip cats dig that. "The Burning Ground" is arguably one of Van Morrison's most intense forays into personal and spiritual allegory. More importantly, it's just a dang good tune. Within it, though, is a message that makes me think of the plight of so many unknowing salespeople: the challenge of head trash

Salespeople are not wise to the ways of great sorcerers and for that we can all be thankful. Sorcerers are known for exotic blends, flash powder, potent broths and a willingness to pluck the eyes out of living things. Sorcerers spend an inordinate amount of time consulting the bones, looking to see what the future holds - which usually ends up about half-right. There's every reason to believe that consulting those dried up old bones might be about as successful as the "winging it" strategy employed by many sales amateurs.

"Equal business stature, that's all I want--to be treated as an equal. I have earned that right. Yet to a gatekeeper or prospect, I am the lowest form of humanity." So lamented a friend of mine over a recent lunch of burgers, fries and a heaping plate of frustrated sales efforts