Defying the Odds to Break Through

I write about the years after becoming a salesperson, when I finally understood what sales really meant and faced one seemingly hopeless dead end after another. Everything I went through was about finding a way out.

I originally wanted to call this book Break Through the Deadlock, but someone had already used that title. Then I thought of Going Against the Current, but that was taken too. So I settled on Breaking Through Against the Current. Naming a book is hard!

Not long after I arrived in the capital, a client looked at me and said, “I thought you were dead. I didn’t think you’d still be limping along!”

To win this client, I had to find a way through the deadlock!

He became my first key client.

For our first project in the north, the manufacturer’s salespeople were sabotaging us from within, our strongest competitor was coming at us from outside, and we had useless teammates. How could we break through?

How could I use someone who seemed useless to get out of the deadlock?

I won the project and secured the distributor!

One client said to me, “You owe me 200,000 yuan!”

It was an awkward situation. What could I do to get him to pay up and become one of my key clients?

Once again, I had to find a way through the deadlock!

In the end, he became one of my key clients too!

Another client told me, “Your manufacturer cost me 800,000 yuan last year...”

I used every card in my hand to overcome the obstacles in his mind.

He agreed to work with me too!

One client flat-out said she would never work with us.

It was difficult, but that didn’t mean there was no chance. The opportunity depended on whether I wanted to pursue it.

Later, she flew to Chang'an to discuss a deal!

Isn’t sales all about constantly figuring out how to do the impossible?

If it’s easy to do, that only means you have a great platform, not that you’re personally capable.

If you can’t do it but someone else can, it means you haven’t given it everything you’ve got.