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I can’t remember if it’s against HN rules to implore people to read the actual article.

The reason he became good at selling (according to the article) is because he changed his attitude despite reading the sales scripts verbatim both before and after his attitude adjustment.

It’s an interesting and probably helpful lesson for the startup hustlers here on HN if they can make it through this admittedly long essay.




> despite reading the sales scripts verbatim both before and after his attitude adjustment

The article states that he was fired because he did not read the script he was required to read.


The article states that he was fired because the company had financial problems, and not reading the required stuff was used as an excuse


The point is he did not read the scripts verbatim as you claimed.


(Wasn't me claiming that, read usernames)

Yeah, but you are, at least seemingly, missing the point: the scripts he was referring to in context weren't the legal disclosures but the sales tricks that were handed to them to use. He is pointing out that the 'elite' saleswoman wasn't better at strategy or sales tricks, but was effective because she made them feel good.


The article was also written by someone who is not a reliable narrator.

The type of person who would skip the legally required stuff while working as a telemarketer is exactly the kind of person who'd tell you he got fired for a "technicality", while he was actually fired because he was breaking the law and lying to customers.


Especially considering that even the unreliable narrator himself admits he was one of the first ones to be fired - why would you fire the best employee first if it wasn’t for cause?


It is against the rules to imply that the person you are responding to hasn’t read the article, but I don’t think it is against the rules to implore the community to read it, generally.


Also just to be more explicit, people can (should) read the article and decide. It is not super long and it is engagingly written. I think the author is kind mythologizing his job… there’s clearly a fraud component to how he got better, and a skill improvement component. It isn’t obvious which contributed more from his telling, and given that his telling is probably inclined to put him in a good light, I lean toward the fraud.




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