In today’s edition, I’m taking you back to where it all started for me… selling shoes at a market stall when I was just 11 years old. Those Sundays taught me some of the most important sales lessons I still carry today. These lessons don’t need a CRM or a perfect pitch deck. They need people skills, persistence, and presence. Let’s dig in.

Hello Reader,

When I was 11, I started my first real sales job.

Every Sunday morning, I turned up at 6am in a car park in Weston-super-Mare where the local market was held.

My job was selling shoes.

Not the latest Nike trainers or designer heels. We sold steel toe-capped boots to construction workers and fur-lined slippers to old ladies.

It wasn’t glamorous. But it was busy. And we made good money every week.

Looking back now, I realise those Sundays shaped my entire approach to sales. And many of the lessons I learned then still hold true today…

Whether you’re selling shoes at a market or selling high-ticket services to CEOs.

Here are the 4 big sales lessons I learned on that shoe stall that I still use every day.

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Lesson 1: Know your market

We knew exactly who we were selling to.

Construction workers wanted safety boots that lasted. Older ladies wanted warm, reliable slippers.

We weren’t trying to be fancy or fashionable. We weren’t trying to sell to people who didn’t need our product. We sold to people who valued reliability and good value.

It’s the same in your business.

When you know your market: who they are, what they value, and what they care about, you stop wasting time chasing the wrong people.

Selling gets easier when you aim at the right target.

Chris, the stall owner, taught me this early on. He would always start with something like, “It’s lovely to see you today madam, have you had a good day so far?”

This got people into conversation and helped us get to know them better.

Lesson 2: People buy from people they like

He didn’t jump straight into the sale. He built rapport first.

He cared about people. And they felt it.

If people like you, they’re far more likely to buy from you.

One of the most valuable things Chris taught me was to pay attention.

When people tried on shoes, we’d roll out a strip of carpet and give them pop socks to try the shoes properly. And then we’d watch.

If they smiled in the mirror, we’d say, “Those look lovely on you, Mrs Jones.”

And if they hesitated or looked unsure, we’d gently encourage them to try another colour or style.

Whether you’re on a market stall or in a boardroom, this rule never changes:

Be someone people want to buy from. Show interest. Build connections. Smile.

Lesson 3: Watch your buyer’s reactions

We turned up every Sunday. No matter what.

Even when I was freezing cold, Chris would say to me:

“If they see our sign every week and know we’re always here, even if they don’t buy from us today, they’ll trust us eventually.”

He was right.

Some people didn’t buy straight away. But they came back. Sometimes weeks, sometimes months later because we were a familiar face.

Trust isn’t built in one conversation. It’s built over time by consistently showing up.

In sales, you don’t always close the deal on day one. But when you stay present, follow up, and stay top of mind, buyers come back.

Lesson 4: You may not always sell straight away

You may not sell to someone straight away, but if you build trust over time, they will eventually.

There were plenty of buyers who browsed. But leading from lesson 3 above, because they always saw us there, they grew to trust us and eventually purchased from us.

So the goal is to be patient and build up the trust so you can some day sell to people. To adapt that to today’s world, you can, for example, show up consistently on social media. Over time, patience and consistency will turn curiosity into customers.

The biggest lesson here though, is that you have to do the work. There were so many little things I learned on that stall, but the core lesson was simple: When I got paid at the end of the day, I knew I’d earned it.

No shortcuts. No flukes. Just doing the work the right way.

It’s the same today.

• Show up.
• Care.
• Pay attention.
• Be present.
• Do the work.

That’s how you get results.

That’s how you build a career.

That’s how you grow sales.

Keep doing great work. The rewards will come.

Here’s to building trust the old-fashioned way,

James

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