"I've been in sales for twenty-five years," seasoned veterans always say.
No kidding.
But aren't we all in sales? I mean, don't we all sell something? Everything? Everyday?
Kids sell us on why they need ice cream. On why they should stay up an extra 30 minutes at night.
[Note: The best selling I ever did was getting mom and dad to let me stay up to watch Laverne + Shirley after Happy Days...]
Later, we start selling the girl on why she should go out with us.
And of course, later in life, guys like me spend our time selling the woman in our life what TV show to watch. [Rarely do I close one of these sales...]
Point is, we are all selling something.
And in business, of course we are in sales. This assumes, of course, you are in business to make profits. Which means you HAVE TO sell stuff to earn revenue.
[Note 2: I question whether some SMEs are really in business to make profits...]
So it goes without saying that we are in sales. And to take it one step further, we are all in marketing too.
So, I want us to stop saying we are in sales. It is a given. I think this is the lazy way to explain what we do and who we are.
In addition to making sales on behalf of your organization, I believe we all have larger roles and contributions to make.
So, what are we instead?
We are creatives.
We are solutions providers.
We are problem solvers.
We are educators.
We are teachers.
We are content marketers.
We are motivators.
We are trail blazers.
We are partners.
We are innovators.
These are the things that define us all.
We help people generate creative solutions in our market. We provide new solutions to our market space. We solve problems that organizations are battling every day. We educate our market to new possibilities. We teach people how to do things better. We motivate our market by telling stories. We inspire people to try new things. We help people start down a new path. We aren't merely vendors, we are part of the team. And, finally, we are innovating news ways to move the ball down the field.
I am not in sales. Sure, I sell things. But I prefer to think of myself as much more than a salesman.
And I am not talking about this negative perception that some people have about sales people, like car salesmen.
I am more than a salesman. I am a businessman too. I am a creative. I am an innovator.
Don't box yourself in to such a narrow definition.
You are so much more than that...
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Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.