Caring About the People You Do Business With

How do you view the people you do business with?  Do you care about them?  Do you care about their success?  Are you there to serve them, help them get what they want, better their lives?  Is that important to you?  Do you think about that, is it something you’re fully conscious of, proud of?  Or are they there simply for you to make a living, to serve your needs, to be nothing more than the pawns of your “professional” existence?

Do you speak well of the people you do business with, do you think highly of them?  Or do you speak ill of them, make fun and belittle them, tell stories to your family and friends about how dumb and ridiculous they are?  Do you admire them, learn from them, or do you see them as idiots who are successful in spite of themselves?

Who are these people to you?  If you’ve never bothered to think about it, I suggest you take a moment or two to ponder the question—to ponder all the questions above, because the quality of your entire sales career, the degree of success you achieve, depends on your attitude towards these people.

If it’s all about you, if that’s why you’re a salesperson, if you really don’t give a damn about the people you do business with, I urge you to find another line of work, because, folks, you’ll never be a top-tier professional salesperson.  Oh, you may make a living, it may even be a decent living, but it’ll never reach the success levels of the great ones, the true professionals, who deeply care about their customers and their welfare.  To these professionals, the relationship is all-important, far and away more important than any individual sale.  They always make the customer’s welfare paramount, and never sell him/her anything they don’t believe is in his/her best interest.

These salespeople wake up every morning excited about their work; they can’t wait to start making calls; they look forward to meeting people, giving presentations—they love being a salesperson!  Do you?  Or do you wake up every morning and groan when you think about the day that awaits you?  Do you get a sick feeling in your gut because you dread the day ahead?  Which is it for you, excitement, enthusiasm, or dread?

You have but one life.  Meaningful work should be a part of that life.  If your work isn’t meaningful to you, a joyous experience, go find some work that is—you deserve no less.

So do the people you do business with.  They deserve to be served by only the best, by people who truly care about them.  If that isn’t you, move aside and let the professionals do the job the right way; then go become a professional in a line of work that excites you, a line of work you’re enthusiastic about.

Everyone will win!