In motivation, influence, and persuasion, sales and leadership overlap a lot. Sales is also the most common route to CEO, I’ve heard, so if you want to lead, you benefit from learning sales.
Below is a video interviewing a guy who is incredible at sales. He sold an apple for five dollars, with the buyer believing she got a discount! My retelling the story about it led to a friend offering him a job. And the guy is still an undergraduate at NYU.
This video tells the story of his acting on my assignment to sell an apple for as much as possible. I didn’t even assign it to him. I just told him about the assignment I gave to my Entrepreneurial Marketing and Sales class. He did it voluntarily for no extra credit. More importantly, he doesn’t have any special training or skill you or I don’t. He found ways to make the project enjoyable, the same as anyone can.
I hope you find it valuable.