Botetourt Bio: Chuck Rogul promotes success in sales

“I don’t want to boast” is how Chuck Rogol answered to the idea of an article about him. No he didn’t boast, the facts of his career simply told what you’d want to know. And yes, he was lucky along the way.

His life started in the Bronx, “a low income area,”as he called it. So his luck started as a young man when he was able to attend City College (CCNY) without paying tuition and get a degree in accounting.

Diploma in hand he eventually landed a job in sales support with IBM. “I was more qualified than most of the salesmen, because I understood how business worked.” So add to lucky and throw in smarter as well as his good understanding of human nature. Not psychology he is quick to say. He was able to use common sense, “which isn’t very common.” He followed a list of sales success rules to help him reach his career height when he was supporting his six children and could move the family out of the Bronx to Long Island.

Early on he read Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” “Everyone should read it for its practical understanding of human behavior. Carnegie understood that a good conversationalist is one that asks questions. Some sales managers have used the cliche

“God gave you to two ears and one mouth” to remind sales people not to talk too much. But a better lesson would be to stress that you’re not learning a thing if you’re busy talking.”

Rogol was selling and leasing large IBM main frames, the kind that took up several rooms, now mostly replaced. But the same principles applied, just with lots more zeros on the contracts. “When sales people go to a sales workshop, they get asked which sales person would you want to be like? The one who can sell anything or the one about whom the customers say “she won’t let me buy it if it isn’t right for me.” The second one is selling successfully and making friends, too, as she is considering the needs of the client first.”

Another way Rogol reached success: he always thought outside the box. For example, “programmers are very hard to find and even harder to keep. Other companies lure them away with higher salaries. So I hired qualified people with high school diplomas, no college degrees. They are the ones that banks, insurance companies and big corporations will never consider.”

He discourages following advice such as “you can do anything you set your mind to” or “every no is closer to a yes.” He maintains that being positive should not be an attitude but an objective. “Defining a positive objective and pursuing it increases the probability of success. Some companies may not be good prospects for your product or service. Remember that a proposal submitted to a prospect is your recommendation. And the prospect will evaluate you based on it.”

If all this sounds like teaching, he gets the talent naturally – after all, his grandfather and two uncles were rabbis. And he’s writing a book, too. So if you want to get some of his advice for your small business, just send an email to the Bee to get in touch with him. He’s offering to talk to you on the phone or to come to your business to see how he can help you with your sales or marketing, no fees. A pure Botetourt helping hand. Please contact him via submit@thebotetourtbee.com  and note Rogul in the subject.

–Priscilla Richardson,  special to the Botetourt Bee