My first post for the new e-zine Catholic Stand has been published. Check it out – I hope you like it.
OK, here’s a snippet:
Now, there is a famous scene in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, in which Alec Baldwin, playing a hyper-alpha motivational salesman, gives a “pep talk” of sorts (cleaned up because, you know, this is a Catholic site) to a group of real estate salesmen:
“You drove a Hyundai to get here. I drove an eighty-thousand dollar BMW. THAT’S my name. And your name is you’re wanting. You can’t play in the man’s game, you can’t close them – go home and tell your wife your troubles. Because only one thing counts in this life: Get them to sign on the line which is dotted. You hear me you ——- ——-? A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing. ALWAYS BE CLOSING.”
To be sure, a very important aspect of the sales process is The Close. No close = no sales = no income = find a new job. But I’m going to modify the mantra of Always Be Closing. I’m not a big fan of it. It’s not the only thing that counts in this life. I prefer Always Be Catholic.
In its simplest terms, sales is relationships. It’s people business, whether you’re selling cars, sofas, packaging, life insurance – it’s not about the product, it’s about the people. The bottom line is not really about The Bottom Line – or the dotted line – it’s about the interchange between two people. It’s one person – the salesman – meeting another person – the customer – and trying to persuade him to give something of a known value (his money) in exchange for something of a perceived value (the product), because the product is either the same value or is of greater value than the known value.
Like.
RJH