The Greatest Sales Book of All Time
As a businessman, you’ve likely read a book on sales at some point. Perhaps Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World, or Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale, or Dixon and Adamson’s The Challenger Sale. The idea is that you have an important product, and that somehow you must learn how to effectively communicate this to your intended audience. You need to present your proposition in a way that captivates the listener and helps him to see that he cannot live without what you have to offer. This is a skill you can learn!
This is somewhat true, too, in a spiritual sense. As a faith-centered leader, how do you influence others toward Jesus Christ, a Person you know to be beneficial personally, professionally, eternally, to each and everyone that you meet? The Holy Spirit acts as we speak the Gospel message to those in our sphere of influence, and God draws people to Himself. We are commanded by Jesus to share His story with others, regardless of our professionalism and eloquence. But at some level we also know we should be prepared and able to speak honestly and readily to those who would listen. Scripture tells us, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
In this vein consider reading what is the greatest book on sales and salesmanship ever written. It is short and simple, yet at the same time, profound. This book was published in 1960, and has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, making it among the best-selling books of all time. It is a result of a $50 bet between the author and his publisher, in which the author was challenged to write a book using only 50 different words.
This foundational book on salesmanship is, of course, Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss. It is the story of Sam-I-Am, who asks his unnamed friend if he would eat green eggs and ham. Through page after page, Sam-I-Am asks and asks his friend to try the seemingly unappealing dish in all kinds of manners and locations. And, page after page, his friend says he will not try it, not under any circumstances, in any location, in any manner, whatsoever.
How could this children’s book, written over 50 years ago, and containing only 50 different words, be the greatest marketing book of all time? The answer is that Sam-I-Am asks his friend to try green eggs and ham an astounding 69 times. His friend finally, reluctantly, says, “Yes.” Green Eggs and Ham is the ultimate book on sales because it is also the ultimate book on persistence. Sam-I-Am is convinced his friend will love green eggs and ham once he tries it, and continues to optimistically pursue his goal time, and time, and time again.
Many sales books teach persistence as a key principle for success. Don’t accept the customer’s “no”. A more recent sales book found that 48% of salespeople quit trying after the first sales call, and a cumulative 90% called it quits after four total contacts. That means only 10% of salespeople made a fifth call. But the study found that 80% of all first-time sales were made after that fifth call.[1] Have you ever cold-called someone? Research by TeleNet indicates it takes eight attempts to reach a prospect through cold-calling.[2] Yet nearly everyone stops after the first two cold attempts.
Sharing faith isn’t exactly like selling a product. But sharing faith does require the same persistence and tenacity. And faith-centered leaders suffer from a similar level of resignation after one or two failed attempts. Persistence is “to continue in a course of action despite difficulty or opposition.” The deeper you go into Green Eggs and Ham, the more impressed you become with Sam-I-Am’s continued, faithful, sincere effort to get his friend to try his interesting dish.
“You do not like them, so you say. Try them! Try them, and you may…” Sam-I-Am’s persistence pays off. His friend, exasperated from the repeated attempts says, “Sam, if you let me be, I will trying. You will see.” And then, “Say, I like green eggs and ham… Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am.” Dr. Seuss didn’t end the book with Sam-I-Am saying, “I told you so.” No, the character had his friend’s best interest at heart the whole time. It wasn’t a fancy sales pitch or celebrity endorsement or price matching or feature shootout that won him over. It was persistence, pure and simple.
Sam-I-Am’s strength is that he doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He keeps trying. So think about Green Eggs and Ham with respect to sharing faith. Keep trying. Don’t give up. Give another invitation to join you at church. Ask again about a conversation of faith on the golf course. Give another opportunity to pray about a family difficulty. One more approach on joining that men’s fellowship. Persistently going to your faith shows others how much you believe in Christ to make it through life and work. Would you be willing to ask five times, ten times? Could you match Sam-I-Am and share your faith 69 times before you got a “yes”?
You might have heard of the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon, an English pastor who lived during the mid-1800s. Called to the ministry at age 19, he began his first pastorate at the New Park Street Chapel in Southwark with a tiny and diminishing congregation. The church could seat 1,200, yet as Spurgeon began his tenure he was preaching to around a dozen people. But the young pastor was persistent. He preached over 100 sermons—two years’ worth—before the church saw his first convert. He was plain-spoken. Often criticized by academia and the media, he kept on with his preaching, week-in and week-out. Over time Spurgeon became the most popular preacher in England. Walter Thornbury wrote of a worship service led by Spurgeon:
“A congregation consisting of 10,000 souls, streaming into the hall, mounting the galleries, humming, buzzing, and swarming—a mighty hive of bees—eager to secure at first the best places, and, at last, any place at all. After waiting for more than half an hour—for if you wish to have a seat you must be there at least that space of time in advance… Mr. Spurgeon ascended his tribune. To the hum, rush, and trampling of men, succeeded a low, concentrated thrill and murmur of devotion, which seemed to run at once, like an electric current, through the breast of everyone present, and by this magnetic chain the preacher held us fast bound for about two hours.”
Charles Spurgeon preached over 100 sermons—two years’ worth—before the church saw his first convert. Photo: Spurgeon Archive
By his death in 1892, Spurgeon had preached 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, saying, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions.[3] He became known as the “Prince of Preachers”, and many of his sermons are studied by seminarians and pastors today. In 1857 he had preached to his largest crowd ever—23,654 people—at The Chrystal Palace in London. Thousands were impacted by his life and ministry. Yet one wonders what would have happened if Spurgeon had given up after five sermons, or ten, or fifty. He is another example of persistence as a tool of faith. In order for the Gospel to be of greatest success, we must be undeterred by failure and initial rejection. We must be willing to ask again. And again. And again. And again…