When I invited Mike Rowe to speak at our Boot Camp, I knew he was the perfect guy to drive home some hard truths. Mike is best known for his hit show Dirty Jobs, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that before he was a TV star, he was a pitchman, a storyteller and – yes – a salesperson.
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And the lessons he shared? Pure gold for any entrepreneur serious about building a real, lasting business.
Sales Is The Ultimate Dirty Job
Mike and I kicked off talking about how sales – real sales – is the dirty job of business. Everybody loves marketing. Marketing feels clean and creative. But SALES? That’s where you have to face rejection, handle objections and ASK for the order.
As Mike put it, sales is the “wet work.” It’s messy. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s where the actual magic happens. Without someone out there selling, nothing else matters.
If you’re an MSP owner who thinks you can hide behind marketing and avoid getting your hands dirty with selling, you’re living in a fantasy. Sales is the dirty job that keeps your business alive.
Why A Viking Walked Into A Bar And Walked Out A Pitchman
One of my favorite stories Mike shared was how he stumbled into his first sales gig at QVC. Picture this: Mike’s dressed as a Viking, on a break from singing opera, walks into a bar, sees home shopping on TV and decides on a bet to audition the next day.
His audition? Sell a #2 Ticonderoga pencil… non-stop… until they told him to stop.
Now, think about that for a second. How many business owners can really sell a pencil – much less a complex IT solution – with passion, authority and creativity? Mike nailed it because he understood something critical: it’s not about the product; it’s about the story you tell around it.
He didn’t just list features. He sold the benefits and the meaning behind the product: how the pencil’s color saved time, how the eraser was perfectly engineered, how Einstein may have jotted down the theory of relativity with one just like it.
As Mike said, “It’s never about the pencil. It’s always about the thing you can do with the thing you’re talking about.”
You’re Probably Good At Something You Don’t Love
Another hard truth Mike threw down was this: sometimes, you’re good at things you don’t like – and sometimes, you suck at things you’re passionate about.
Mike found out he was great at selling – even if at first he hated it. He sold magazines over the phone, negotiated service contracts, and eventually, sold America on the idea that hard, dirty work is honorable.
It’s not about chasing your passion blindly. It’s about developing the skills that create opportunities, whether you love them or not.
For those of you struggling to get traction in your business: maybe you need to get a lot better at a few things you’ve been avoiding. Like selling. Like prospecting. Like closing deals.
The Power Of A Feature-Benefit Mindset
Mike summed up his success by sharing the secret to selling anything: Always move from feature to benefit.
You don’t just say the pencil is yellow. You say it’s yellow so you can find it faster in your cluttered drawer.
You don’t just say your managed services offer 24/7 monitoring. You say 24/7 monitoring means your clients sleep soundly at night knowing their business is protected.
It’s a simple shift, but it’s powerful. Features tell. Benefits sell.
And until you start speaking in terms of benefits – real, tangible benefits that matter to your prospects – you’ll struggle to get the sales you deserve.
Get Comfortable Doing The Work Others Won’t – That’s Where Success Lives
Bottom Line: Mike Rowe reminded all of us that success doesn’t come from doing the easy, glamorous work. It comes from doing the tough, gritty work nobody else wants to do – and doing it better than anyone else.
Whether you’re selling pencils or cybersecurity solutions, the principles are the same. Get out there. Get dirty. Get good.
