When Our Sales Lead Delivered A Zinger Hoax

During my first startup in 1998, we hired a sales lead who skyrocketed sales.

Jason looked like a cast member of the Real World. He was round and short, with a blonde highlighted haircut.

As a co-founder, I went with him on his first sales appointment. We took a tour of the prospect's company, and within a few minutes, Jason took over. "Todd, can you wait outside while I discuss the agreement?" he asked.

Taken back, I smiled and waited in the lobby while he talked with the customer alone. Thirty minutes later, he and the customer came out smiling. It was not until we got into his car that I saw the check. He closed a decent-sized deal.

This performance continued, with multiple new clients being signed each week. In addition, he began hiring people from other places he had worked, so the sales team expanded.

Like a movie, Jason appeared in a new Cadillac one day and took the founding team to lunch at a nice Atlanta restaurant.

Then, one morning, while hosting a large client at our office, Jason was nowhere to be found. I called him, my assistant called him, and the CEO tried calling, but there was no answer. A few hours after the client left, Jason called with horrible news.

"My brother-in-law died last night, and I passed out at the hospital," he explained on the phone with the CEO while apologizing for missing the meeting.

Instructing his assistant to send flowers to the funeral home, she called a florist and ordered them to prepare an arrangement. A few minutes later, the florist called back, needing clarification about where to send the flowers. "We called all of the funeral homes, and none of them have a record of a funeral in that name."

After some digging, it appeared that Jason made up the funeral story. I was told to let it go and not mention it since he was a top sales performer.

Conclusion

In the end, the clients Jason signed were overpromised and even lied to. It cost us more than the revenue generated to keep them from suing us, and eventually, the CEO let him go.