The Sales History Podcast
Todd Caponi
Bringing the incredible (and sometimes strange) brains from the profession of sales' past to the 2020's - from Todd Caponi, author of Four Levers Negotiating (Out January 27th, 2026), The Transparency Sale & The Transparent Sales Leader.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 13, 2021 • 13min
The Weird (by Today's Standards) Sales Methodologies of the Early 20th Century
Send us a textPhrenology. Physiognomy. Graphology = A couple of the sales methodologies of 100 years ago that may sound really strange to us today, but were embraced and pervasive back then. So pervasive, the Ford Motor Company swore by one of them. The pioneers of this weirdness were the heralded keynotes at sales events. In this episode, we dive into those strange (by today's standards) methodologies of sales' past.Support the show
Jul 6, 2021 • 20min
Sales Education in College - Pervasive, Disappeared, and Now It's Back!
Send us a textWe so often hear and see people proclaiming that "Sales should be taught in college". Well, it was...and in high school, too, back in the early 1900's. The most prominent universities in the country (Harvard, Wharton, etc.) had it. Then it disappeared - for decades. Now it's coming back - aggressively. Why did we need and have it 100+ years ago? Why did it disappear? Why is it back now? Could it disappear again? All covered in this week's Sales History Podcast. Support the show
Jun 29, 2021 • 14min
1920's Telling of "The History of Sales"
Send us a textImagine, it's 1920, and someone is sitting around asking themselves, "I wonder what the history of sales is". They do the homework, then they write about it. Well, I found it. And in this episode, I summarize it - the History of Sales from the beginning of time through 1920.Support the show
Jun 22, 2021 • 10min
The 1st World Sales Congress & An Admired Profession
Send us a text105 years ago - the sales profession was not only respected & trusted, it was admired! As evidence, the first World Sales Congress was taking place in Detroit, keynoted by the President...in the middle of a world war! Here's the story of the event, my take on how we've lost our way, and how to get it back!Support the show
Jun 16, 2021 • 12min
The Modern History of Women in Sales & Lucinda Prince
Send us a text"Salesmanship" - a pervasive word at the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean women didn't play a prominent role in the profession 100+ years ago. And even more amazing, in this episode, I tell the story of Lucinda W. Prince, who became the profession's leading advocate for empowering women to embrace, establish and excel in sales.Support the show
Jun 8, 2021 • 8min
Was Mark Twain the Pioneer of Modern Sales Enablement?
Send us a textWilliam Faulkner called him “the father of American literature”. From my research, Mark Twain may also be “the pioneer of sales enablement”. In this first episode, I tell you the story of how Mark Twain saved the Ulysses S. Grant family, turning his book into the 2nd best selling book of all-time (at the time) through creating a sales enablement environment supporting 10,000 salespeople!Support the show
