When we think of the Apostle Paul, we think about his mission work and teaching the gospel. But have you ever thought about Paul as a skilled salesman? While he wasn’t selling a product or business idea, he was “selling” the message of the gospel. Paul’s sales skills are clearly shown in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and there’s some key lessons that we can learn from him.
He adapted to his audience
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified”. Paul knew his audience – rather than trying to “pitch” the gospel to the church with big fancy words, he chose to speak to them in a language they understood and related to.
He was transparent with them.
1 Corinthians 2:3 “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling”. Paul was honest and vulnerable with the church, which built their trust in him.
He relied on the value of his “product”
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 “and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”. Paul didn’t have to be a pushy salesman – he just believed in the power of his message and the genuine value of what he was selling.
What can we learn about sales from the Apostle Paul? We need to know our audience and tailor our message to them, we need to be straightforward and honest with them, and we need to believe and rely on our product rather than trying to persuade someone to buy something they don’t actually need.
FrenchJA21 
andersonsa22 
riehljb21
Hi there, I love your incorporation of your faith into the sales force. I know that while unfortuanately most of the world would not share your biblical view, I think your incorporation of your faith is the right thing and something I share with my faith as well. I think building that trust by being honest with them will be a huge thing that will get you farther ahead in life as well.
I really appreciated this post because it reminded me of our calling to “go and make disciples of all nations”. I had not thought of Paul’s sales techniques before but I am a big fan of them. Mainly the fact that he does not need lofty speech to get his point across. He knows the beauty of the Gospel and is confident in that message.