Making a Difference

Let me ask you a question. When you first applied for your current sales position, you were probably asked, “Why do you want this job?”. Can you remember how you responded? You probably didn’t say something like, “Because I want to get rich and drive a nice car and buy a big house.” You may have thought it, but I doubt that was your answer.

Chances are, your answer had something to do with “great opportunity”, or “high potential.” But I also think you probably mentioned something about how you enjoy helping people and/or solving problems. Isn’t that the answer we are supposed to give, even if we don’t mean it?

So let me ask you another question. Why is it that during an interview, when we are trying to make our best impression, we think we need to mention the fact that we enjoy helping other people? Is it because we think it sounds good, or is it because deep down we truly know that helping other people is the highest calling of the sales profession?

Even though it’s easy to forget, we should always remember that making a difference is more important than making a dollar. Sure, a dollar puts food on the table and a roof over our head, but we know in our gut that more money isn’t going to matter in the end. What will matter are the people whose lives we have touched along the way. Money provides a certain amount of outward pleasure and that’s a fair reward for being good at what we do. But making a difference to others can fulfill a person in a way that money never will.

As a successful salesperson who has had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way, I know one thing for sure. When you believe that people are more important than profits, profits begin to climb. It’s pretty simple actually and fairly similar to the “Golden Rule”. People like doing business with someone who cares more about them than their bank account. So let me ask you one final question, “How many lives will you touch along the way? 

Making a difference is more important than making a dollar.

~ Joseph Thrailkill