It's easy to develop a love-hate relationship to the grass on the other side
A part of my daily routine, listening to my favorite playlist while traveling to work in the afternoons. And then the phone starts to disturb the number on the playist.. I receive the call and 3 seconds later, I politely say " I am not interested". My fellow teammates in the cab turn to be and smile at me. That smile conveyed a telepathy message to me "Another credit card seller calling you. Is it? Cut the call and play the music Bro".
Instead, the tele-conversation continued on for a few minutes, I asked a few questions, answered a few. Spilled a few words of thanks and requests. In the end, appreciated the caller and we bid goodbyes to each other. Meanwhile, I had 3 pairs of eyes staring at me, one of them addresses me "Yogi -The Monk with the Gun. What took you so long to just cut that call Bro, these credit card salesmen never stop chewing our brains. Let me offer you a tip or two on how to stay away from them". In the next few minutes, I was coached of various formulas on how to avoid various salesmen, how we belittle them, how we show them the door, how we slam the phone on them, etc.
A few days later, I received another sales-call, I spent another minute or two talking to the tele-caller and we bid goodbyes. My team-mates gave me the telepathy treatment again. That's when the tiny good brain re-collected a phrase someone once used in a seminar. "People buy similar to how they sell". Slowly the dots started to add up. It took a few seconds to analyze the eagerness, the hunger that salesperson had it in her on that particular call. If I may tap into my memory and conduct a post-mortem on that call, I could say, she really wanted to sell. Her mastery over the language and the sales process she had been taught may not be perfect, but her intent and her objective were clear. Her politeness and willingness to never give up upon rejection showed that she will be a better salesperson with every growth opportunity.
Fast forward this into our careers today, with the ever-evolving era of Millenials, Start-ups and World at your fingertips, it's easy to always develop a keen liking to the grass on the other side. Your LinkedIn Profile is one such "field" which should neither be under-sold nor over-tinkered with.
Every-time, when someone asks me why have I not accepted their profile requests yet, I wish my telepathy works better. I want to tell them "Yes, I would like to give everyone out there a sensible opportunity to interact with me -much similar to how I have been given an opportunity by many around me. Let's see what follows that request". But deep inside, I want to also tell them, "Hey, I take great pride in my current job role, my designation, what I am paid for and above all, the organization that pays me. I have to admit that I do have a list of favorite work-places and designations from the past, the rich lessons and experiences I have gathered, all, a chip on my shoulder. But, What good is it if I am not comfortable in showcasing to the world who I am today?? What good is it if I am still living in the past and not able to flex and mould myself into the present job role?? That's where I have an issue. If I don't see your current job role-but still living in the past, that's when I hesitate to accept. Your grey hair and wrinkles should be a testimony to the number of years and the immense knowledge that you may possess"
How on earth will we be successful Sales Professionals if we develop energies of hatred towards other Sales Professionals from a different culture? How can we upskill if we are not open to the new practices the world around has acquired?
How can we expect someone to accept us if we are yet to make peace with ourselves? How do we answer these from within ??