Don’t you hate the way #sales have such a bad rep?
I know it can be intrusive, but I even give the time of day to the unsolicited prospecting that happens from call centers. At the end of the line is someone doing their job, trying to earn an income to feed their families. I give them the space to hear whether their product might actually be valuable to me, if for no other reason than respect for the person on the other side of the phone.
It may seem crazy, but I’ve actually built some pretty lasting relationships from these calls. There’s a blind guy that tops up our wine, the cellphone provider that slashed my fees in half and even my short-term insurance company which keeps me on the straight and narrow. All of these delivered more value than the ten minutes it took me to pay some attention to the human on the other side of the phone.
Obviously I can also empathise because I’m trying as hard as dammit to also “sell” something new into my world. For the first time in my life, I’m bumping my head up against people that don’t have time for anything but their own distracted lives and others that are simply downright disrespectful.
My perspective on this is that it’s not “sales” if there’s a fair exchange of value. It might be that the value pushes you slightly out of your comfort zone, but we all know that change can be hard. I’m knocking on doors and stalking you on LinkedIn, not because I’m the Wolf of Wall Street coming to fleece you of your savings. Rather it’s because I truly believe I can add value to your life. I’m excited to share it with you. I want the whole world to be better off than they were the moment before having interacted with me.
On behalf of all the faceless call center agents and door-to-door salesmen out there, I don’t make any apologies for my sales and have every intention of considering you my prospect. Not for me. For you.
