This article is more of a personal matter. Its aim is to defend the profession of sales. Recently I over heard someone say “Sales is a scum profession” and I tell you I wanted to rip his head off, but of course, I didn’t. I did my best to remain calm, I walked up to the guy, looked him square in the eye and said “I’m a salesman. Can you please repeat that?”. This guy was a little taller than me but by no means was he violent (he was just a ‘bit’ uninformed) – so he looked at me and say “Sorry man, I didn’t mean it like that”. This wasn’t enough for my hunger of justice so I went on “If all sales people were scums, then you ought to thank those ’scums’ because it’s them who made it possible so that you stand in this university today. It was one sales person who ’sold’ someone on this university. It was a sales person who ’sold’ someone on the idea of putting this food place inside the campus. It was a sales person that sold your clothes to the store you bought them in. Now tell me, what about sales people again?”. I was pretty satisfied with my ‘act’.

I must confess I was nervous to do this, but it helped to then figure “Why not write about it in the blog, so that everyone becomes aware of the importance of sales!?”. And so I will do. Keep in mind that I’m not trying to give you a course on sales, but rather on why ’sales’ are so important and why ’sales’ is part of YOUR daily life. As the great Zig Ziglar would say “Selling is everything. And everything is selling”. Yes, everything is selling. As a matter of fact, I’m selling you right now. I’m selling the idea that everything is selling and oh, you’ll buy.

I’m a salesman in Business and Life

I’m very proud to tell you that this website was constructed all upon sales, even though we haven’t sold any single product nor do we charge a single dime for the content. How is it sales then? I was sold in the idea that the blog would reach more people. I sold Ian on the idea that I would take care of things and he bought, and now I’m delivering. We sold you on the idea that we would deliver amazing content and you bought, and now we are delivering. That’s business. Let’s talk about life. I sold my aunt earlier that I would cook the meal today and she bought – I delivered what I sold, even though it didn’t taste as good . I sold this girl that if we met up tomorrow, we would have a great time together – she bought. I sold my professor earlier through an email so I could get extra time – he bought twenty minutes later. Have you ever ’sold’ like this? Of course you have. This is the good side of sales.

There is another side of selling and this is the one that most people are familiar with – the unethical one. Today’s culture makes it easy for us to notice the bad, but almost impossible to notice the good. News speak of ’scams’ in which a salesman tricked someone into something, but news don’t tell you of the salesman who dug long and hard for the perfect house a family desired. Or how a salesman went out of his way and time to solve a family’s problem. News don’t speak of that. To top it off, the ‘classic’ called Death of a salesman gave the sales person in America the worst image. The novel exemplifies everything a salesperson does not stand for. I have no idea what Arthur was thinking when he wrote it, but surely I wouldn’t like the people I surround myself with to think that way.

Sales People Make It Happen

Do you realize that there wouldn’t be free enterprise without sales people? Do you realize that Disneyland, Six Flags, the nightclubs you go to, or the restaurants you frequent most often wouldn’t be there if someone hadn’t sold on the idea of them? What if you’re preparing a project right now and you were to need a white board as part of it. You would need to go buy one to the store, right? When you go, there is ’security’ that you’ll find one, right? Who do you think put that board there? Who was the brain behind all of that? Who sold the store owner on the idea that this white board will be bought? You got it, a salesperson did.

Profit is the essence of a company or business. If there is no profit, then the business dies. And if the business dies, people lose jobs, and people lose jobs the economy goes down, and if the economy goes down… well, you know the rest. It is sales people that makes things happen. Jesus, the most inspiring to ever live, was a salesman and the most effective marketing manager that ever lived. He taught his disciples what was on his mind and heart, and after his death, they went on to spread this message all over, and rather quick! Because of this holy ’salesman’, there is conscious spirituality all over the world today.

There are many sales representative who are pushy, aggressive, and downright careless. On top of this, they are mainly driven by the money and disregard what their costumers’ problems may be. These sales people give the worst image to the hard workers that make things happen. Their behavior harms a country, the sales people, and more important the customers. They harm the attitude customers have toward sales people. When the media portrays these type of sales representatives, it is no surprise that the image of sales people has been downgraded.

There is little that can be done about these sales representatives, so I won’t make a ‘call for action’, but I do would like to remind you that there are also great salespeople out there and that we do care for your well being and satisfaction. Forget not that they play a key role in the economy – from the sales representatives who knock door to door to the high level executives who must sell their ideas in order to negotiate.Treat them with respect as there is honor in being a salesman.  As a salesman myself, I would like to apologize for all the unethical sales representatives one may have to deal with. I promise you, not every sales representative is that way.

A Little Reminder and Tip

This is not just for sales people or business people, so pay close attention. There is no such a thing as a business relationship, there is only relationships. No one will make business with you if they don’t like you AND trust you. A successful business person is not feared, but rather loved. Now, with that in mind, whenever you meet someone whose influence you can benefit from, get their address and within one or two days send them a “Thank You” card. They sell these ‘Thank You” cards everywhere, you can get 20 of them for 6 or 7 dollars. Send one to someone you would like to stay in touch with, and watch what a difference that little card will make. Don’t do emails, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

In hope that your attitude toward salesmanship has become or increase more positive – I wish you to create an excellent week.

Love is the moving force.