Well,…at least with respect to PURPOSE and the very PERSONAL side of this whole discussion.
With 52+ years in the semiconductor industry, and the last 20+ deeply engaged in the global aspect known most generally as “selling” there have been “thousands” of wonderful conversations with truly talented people from all over the globe. For the most part, when asked the following question the answer eventually comes back to a common answer.
The question…. “Dear “sales professional”… tell me why you do this job called selling, when every day you have to get yourself engaged, get involved with often times very negative situations, working many times with very stressed and self focused individuals, that many times center their interactions with you on all of the “bad” of the world. NO is an all too common concept, and "can’t do" is a very common thread. Why would you put yourself into that position constantly?”
Why do you do this?
Now, before I unveil the common concept behind the answer, let's dig into what makes people tick.
One of the many research pieces and bodies of work on the subject of what motivates people has been done by the author Dan Pink. Check out any of his works and you will find excellence in understanding reality. Check out any of his videos or writings… please. From Wikipedia comes the summary of motivation as per Dan Pink…
To motivate employees who work beyond basic tasks, Pink argues that supporting employees in the following three areas will result in increased performance and satisfaction:
- Autonomy — Our desire to be self directed. It increases engagement over compliance.
- Mastery — The urge to get better skilled.
- Purpose — The desire to do something that has meaning and is important. Businesses that only focus on profits without valuing purpose will end up with poor customer service and unhappy employees.
Of the three, PURPOSE, to me, strikes the biggest, loudest, chord of impact.
Enabling people to serve a BIG cause that makes sense to them, and that they can serve well within, and that their company also serves, is the most critical space of commonality that we can create and deliver. AND the space known as “selling” can be the space that delivers just that.
So back to my question of the “sales people” conversations had over the last 20+ years….
The summary to all of the many versions of the answer is something like this… I do this job BECAUSE I LIKE HELPING PEOPLE! Said a hundred different ways, they can all be rephrased as simply… BECAUSE I LIKE HELPING PEOPLE! And it’s wonderfully true.
The most powerful elements are often the simple ones. Our PERSONAL PURPOSE is as simple as it seems…I LIKE HELPING PEOPLE!
Easily said…now go out there and DO IT!
OK, LET’S ROLL!
Find someone to make a difference for today, intentionally!
Mitch