The salesman who saved the United States

Published: Wed, 05/07/25

Updated: Mon, 05/12/25

May 7, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome back to The Quota, the newsletter that’s exempt from tariffs because it’s manufactured entirely on the east coast of the US. In this week’s issue, we’ll dive into some history and learn about how one man’s salesmanship rescued the Union Army. Then, we’ll share a Sales Fail about gambling tips, and give some advice to a rep whose customer is blaming them for their own mistake. Let’s go!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

49 & 3

Follow-up statistics reveal the first follow-up email boosts reply rates by 49%, the second by 3%.

Source: Belkins

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

A Missouri car salesman is fighting for accountability after he was shot by a man he sold a car to. Jody Hendrick was working at an Independence car lot when a former customer walked in and shot him repeatedly. The shooter was killed by deputies in a subsequent gun fight. Five years later, Hendricks says his injuries have left him unable to work, and is filing suit against the store that sold the man the gun, allegedly before his background check was completed. You can read more about it here.
AI is already changing sales, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, according to SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin, arguably the most in-the-know person (when it comes to B2B SaaS anyway). Lemkin says AI will change sales in 7 ways over the next 12 months, with some examples being: AI joining every sales call, more transparency for customers, and 5 more predictions that are very likely to come true. You can read his prognosis here.

FEATURE

How Jay Cooke rescued the United States with salesmanship

In the fall of 1862, as the blood-soaked battlefields of the American Civil War consumed men and resources at an alarming rate, the Union Army faced a crisis that could have ended the war more decisively than any Confederate victory. The Treasury was running empty, with Secretary Salmon P. Chase having sold just $14 million of a desperately needed $500 million bond issue. Traditional bankers had failed, and the government's financial strategy was collapsing. Into this void stepped Jay Cooke, the 41-year-old Philadelphia banker who possessed something his Wall Street counterparts lacked: an understanding of mass psychology and marketing that was decades ahead of his time. Born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1821, Cooke had risen from teenage bookkeeper to banking partner by age 21.

Cooke wasn’t just another financier, he was a salesman. While traditional financiers relied on established banking networks to place government bonds with wealthy clients, Cooke recognized something revolutionary: the untapped potential of ordinary Americans as investors. His genius lay in creating what historian David K. Thomson describes as a "popular or 'democratic' loan" – treating government bonds not as exclusive financial instruments but as consumer products to be mass-marketed to the public.

Cooke's first breakthrough sales tactic was accessibility. He offered bonds in denominations as low as $50 (approximately $1,150 today) and created nine-month installment plans that allowed factory workers, farmers, and small business owners to become government creditors for the first time. This dramatically expanded his potential customer base beyond traditional wealthy investors.

Cooke's second tactical innovation was his masterful use of patriotic marketing. He orchestrated what was essentially America's first national advertising campaign, flooding newspapers with advertisements that appealed to both patriotism and self-interest. Rather than dry financial announcements, Cooke's ads framed bond purchases as direct contributions to victory. He hired editors to write persuasive editorials promoting the bonds and subsidized their publication in over 2,500 newspapers. Each advertisement emphasized the bonds' safety and attractive 6% interest rate (paid in gold) alongside patriotic appeals, creating a powerful dual incentive for investors.

His third breakthrough was building America's first nationwide sales force. Cooke recruited approximately 2,500 agents—not from banking circles but from diverse professions including insurance agents, postmasters, and small-town attorneys—creating a distribution network that reached into every Northern community. These reps earned commissions on their sales, motivating them to aggressively sell bonds to their communities. They traveled to factory floors, general stores, church meetings, and farm communities, convincing ordinary Americans that they had both a patriotic duty and financial opportunity to invest in their government.

Cooke employed sophisticated sales psychology, instructing his agents to target community leaders and prominent citizens first, creating social proof that would encourage others to follow. Perhaps his most innovative sales tactic was price stabilization—a practice now standard in securities offerings but revolutionary at the time. Cooke committed his firm's capital to purchase bonds in the open market whenever prices started to fall, creating investor confidence that their investments wouldn't lose value. This stabilization mechanism protected small investors and ensured continued sales momentum, convincing investors that government bonds were as safe as gold. He even pioneered workplace investment programs, establishing arrangements with companies like the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad to offer payroll deduction plans for employees purchasing bonds—an early precursor to modern workplace investment offerings.

The results of Cooke's sales campaign were nothing short of extraordinary. His techniques transformed a struggling bond program into a spectacular success, with the $500 million issue not merely selling out but becoming oversubscribed at $514 million by January 1864. When called upon again in 1865, he sold nearly $830 million more in Treasury notes in just six months. Cooke himself was handsomely rewarded, earning over $1.8 million in sales commissions (the equivalent of approximately $36 million in 2025).

Cooke's sales genius extended to timing market psychology perfectly. When news of Union victories arrived, his agents would immediately capitalize on the resulting patriotic sentiment. After significant defeats, he would emphasize the financial security aspects of the bonds rather than patriotic appeals. This flexibility in messaging showed a sophisticated understanding of how external events influence buying decisions.

Though his later ventures in railroad financing led to bankruptcy during the Panic of 1873, Cooke's wartime achievements permanently transformed American finance. His innovative sales techniques—mass marketing, nationwide distribution networks, installment purchasing, workplace investment programs, and price stabilization—became foundational to modern investment banking. More significantly, his democratization of government securities created the template for Liberty Bond drives during World War I and savings bond programs that continue today.

Jay Cooke deserves recognition not just as a financier but as a sales and marketing pioneer whose tactics proved as decisive to Union victory as any military strategy. While generals commanded armies, Cooke commanded something equally powerful: the financial resources that made victory possible.

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER, YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK

When was the last time you came across a workplace book that you actually enjoyed?

The publisher and designer of this newsletter teamed up to write (and design) I Hope This Email Finds You Never, a hilarious workplace handbook that won't teach you much, but will definitely make you laugh, even if you're dead inside!

With an average 4.2 star rating on Amazon, here's just some of what you can expect:

How long you can get away with being “new” until you’re held accountable
How to make it look like you’re sorry without giving up any power
How to find a workplace friend and make a workplace enemy
Camera position: how to set up your laptop for maximum dominance
Organizing your calendar while leaving time to cry
The rules of the kitchen (stealing someone’s yogurt is literally a crime)
Writing a letter of resignation when you’ve already been resigned from day one

From Orientation (The Descent), Workplace Etiquette (No Eye Contact Before 11 AM), Working Remotely (Wink Wink), Coworkers (Getting Along with your fellow inmates), and everything in between, this book is your must-have guide to surviving (thriving is not realistic) in the modern workplace.

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MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

What was famous sales speaker and author Zig Ziglar’s real name?

A. Matthew Carver Harris
B. Hilary Hinton Ziglar
C. George W Bush
D. Lionel Shriver Flannery

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

I sell software. My region is in the Midwest. One of my best customers was a guy I had bonded with over our shared team, the Detroit Lions. Our calls always started with sports talk before business. During a routine check-in last fall, he mentioned he'd started using a betting app. Coincidentally, I'd been on a hot streak with my weekend picks. When he complained about losing three weekends straight, I casually suggested a pick that I felt was a lock. The next week, he called about a contract issue but started by thanking me—he'd won $200.

Feeling like a genius, I shared my "lock of the week" with him. When that hit too, our relationship shifted. He'd text asking, "Got anything good this weekend?" This went on for a few more weeks, and he kept hitting. Until my hot streak finally ended. What I didn't realize was that my casual picks had become gospel to him.

Monday morning, I got an angry call. He'd bet $2,500, and lost everything. He threatened to cancel our contract and even mentioned (this was in the heat of the moment) speaking to his company's legal team about my "gambling advice." He eventually calmed down but our relationship was destroyed overnight. He still buys from us, but routes everything through his assistant now. Not great.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- April 2025

WORTH A PEEK

How can a mid-level salesperson become a breakout performer? A recent Reddit commenter asked this question, admitting they were in the middle of the board, but looking to level up. The responses were solid. You can read the conversation here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I sell specialized manufacturing equipment across a regional territory where industry connections run deep. Last month, a customer experienced equipment failure during their first production run with our machine, costing them $50K in damaged materials. Although engineering confirmed it was operator error, and not our product's fault, this customer has been spreading rumors about quality issues throughout the region. Several prospects have gone cold on me mid-sales cycle, and I suspect I've already lost at least one deal because of these whispers. How do I counteract this reputational damage when negative stories travel faster than explanations in this tight-knit industry?

Defamed in Location Withheld

Dear Defamed,

You need to address this issue with the unhappy customer directly. Don't debate fault, come with solutions. Could a free operator training session or service visit help restore confidence? Even if they decline, your good-faith effort shows your commitment to their success. With prospects, acknowledge the incident upfront, explaining what happened and how you've responded, as transparency will earn more respect than pretending nothing occurred. If you really wanted to go the extra mile you could organize a small industry roundtable or demo day where satisfied customers can share positive experiences to counter the negative narrative. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: B. Famous sales speaker and author Zig Ziglar’s real name was Hilary Hinton Ziglar (you can read the source article here)

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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