Ben Stein recently wrote this New York Times piece about the art of sales. I personally think there's actually more here about marketing than sales.
He writes about his first job in shoe sales which, as he says, "entailed selling shoes." It's not always glorious is it? But the way Ben describes it, he remembers it with a certain penchant for getting back to the drama/ballet/high-wire act of selling those shoes.
Interestingly, along with being a lawyer, writer, actor and economist, Mr. Stein is also a highly regarded commencement speaker.
