The Peddler's Perogative
There’s a new reality in business today. The seller-buyer dynamic is changing and it’s the customer who is in the driver’s seat, making the rules, setting the pace. To no one’s surprise (least of all the peddler’s), this has some corporations in their typical deny-deny, ignore-ignore mode. Holed up inside headquarters, the corporate folks are in their standard posture: head deeply burrowed in the sand, unaware of the shifting landscape, and deaf to the ruckus customers are raising.

This is creating a huge void — one that peddlers should step into. As I see it, peddlers are the ideal folks to take the initiative, lead corporate to our customers, and work our magic. After all, part of peddling is bringing people together, setting the tone, putting the issues on the table, moving everyone past their paranoia, connecting the dots, bridging the gaps, getting agreement.

We also know that once the corporate types start to pay attention, they won’t have a blessed idea as to what to do. So we might as well show them how to engage in dialog, create meaningful relationships and, above all, actually care for and worry about our customers. It’s our opportunity to rewire the corporate mindset as we know it.

Of course, to do this, a peddler must have his or her head screwed on straight, which is no easy feat. That's where this book comes in. The Peddler's Field Guide helps you become a better peddler and shows you how to make the most of this opportunity, which is essentially creating a better business environment for you, your company, and your customers.

Let's face it. The peddler's world is different. Because we are closer to life's edges, we have a lot of highs and lows. We win big and lose big. We're gods one day and goats the next. Most people can't imagine being us, and they don't even know half of all the stressful issues we have to deal with on a daily basis.

The stress usually falls into one (or all) of these three categories:
•  You — The pressure you place upon yourself to make your numbers, manage your deals, collect your cash, deal with corporate, and generally keep it all together for your customer, not to mention yourself and your family.

•  Your Company — Management's relentless measurement of minutia, corporate's shifting expectations that constantly change your goals, and the guardrail-to-guardrail strategy that changes quarter to quarter, new boss to new boss, new products to new products. Oy!

•  Your Customer — The demands made upon you to keep your customers happy, usually with too few resources and not a lot of corporate backing, all the while fighting the love 'em and leave 'em corporate sales strategy.

If all this strikes a chord, so will my book. In 20-plus years, I've been through good times and bad, in all kinds of wild situations, and done all types of crazy deals. In this book, I explain how to look at selling in a way that no sales consultant, trainer or manager will offer up to you. I will give you the real deal! You'll glean some amazing insights, and I guarantee you'll get some grins and giggles, as well as some belly laughs. Not only am I a funny son of a gun, but I am also a net/net kind of peddler, so I keep things simple, and moving down the line — as all good peddlers do.

Of course, instead of reading my book you could listen to the bright ideas from the enlightened marketing folks on how to sell more. I'm sure you're familiar with their spiel: “Let's get more motivated. Let's get more organized and call more. Let's write more plans and follow up with more reports. Let's all get more focused and call high, at the C level, so we can sell more.” As if selling is just a matter of doing more and trying harder. Give me a freakin' break!

So here's what you should do. Click the buy button, sit back, relax, fasten your seat belt, and enjoy the ride! This is one the best sales books you will read, and for sure it will be one of the funniest. I promise!

Your modest peddler extraordinaire,

Dennis Ford