Why Sales is one of the Noblest Profession of all times?

Sales as a profession has been around as one of the most noble profession for centuries now. The reason I call it ‘Noble’ because, at the core, it has a heart of gold which is full of compassion & unconditional love. It doesn’t create a fuss about who is embracing it and who is reaching out for help. It accepts & treats everyone with open arms, utter fairness, and complete sincerity. While it has given chance to a whole lot of commoners to kick start their career, at the same time it owns the copyright to a host of ‘rags to riches’ stories from across the globe. I know a lot of people who appeared lost after graduation or postgrad and then the only saviour for them was Sales. When the world was shutting its doors for them, sales welcomed them with open arms. It had no qualms in accepting beginners from any walks of life and giving each one of them a fair and equal chance.

Having said that, the word Sales till date, triggers different emotions in different people. Some look at it with hope and some in despair. Some react, while some act in Sales. This to my mind could be (I am not 100% sure) one of the most hated but at the same time one of the most rewarding career of all times. I have seen people barely surviving, while some thriving in this profession. Some of them enjoy this state of existence, while a lot others detest being called a Salesman / Saleswoman. I wonder what goes in the mind of people who are not so positive about sales. What makes them dread sales so much?

Well, we all need some stuff or other in our lives to survive. We buy them so that life can be led comfortably and easily. Someone has to do the job of making you and your desired product meet. You may like the guy or hate him, but for sure you realise the importance of the product and hence you take the pain of paying for it. This process of a product or a service meeting a prospect or a client, who ends up paying the price in case he or she sees value, is called Sales. I don't understand what is there to hate in this entire process/sentence. I can understand at times, you may not like the idea of someone nudging or pushing you to go for something, but one can show some compassion and take it easy. You may not realise the need for an x product or a Y service at a particular moment, but the other person’s effort surely needs consideration from your end.  

Do we realise, a lack of little compassion at our end as customers, puts how much pressure and leads to what amount of frustration in a Sales Person’s life? Maybe we don't. Because of this insensitivity on part of us as Customers, people who are in sales want to quit and people who want to take it up as a career, dread it. Just see the impact of a couple of No’s it has one’s life and career. We are powerful as Customers and hence we need to be careful while exercising this power. I am sure we all remember the famous line – Customer is King. I agree, but this king needs sales people in his life to make it comfortable. I can understand the enthusiasm and anxiety at times we as sales people display when we meet the kings, which is a put off at times but the intent is always to serve. A little more professionalism will surely help and make things easier for customers but we do get carried away. Most of us take such rejection/feedback with a pinch of salt but we do come back better prepared. Life goes on.

We sales people understand the dependency we have on customers and their positive affirmation to build a career out of this service. Customer’s expectations of a fair and an honest deal is totally justified and anyone failing to live up to this expectation doesn’t have a right to be in sales. Compassion or Empathy then becomes an important vector on which it all rests. To my mind, both parties need to display this. Sellers for sure need to understand the expectations of a client to win the deal and the customers to need to be a little more compassionate when they have to say no to an offer. It will not hurt anyone and life will go on for both.

I am a passionate Salesman and this profession has made me what I am. It helps me learn a lot every day and become a better human being. I have made 1000s of friends being in sales and I know this friend-making spree is not going to come to an end soon. I believe, Sales as a profession doesn’t want you to sell. It just expects you to go out and meet as many people as possible in a day, talk about what you do and how your product/offer/solution/service helps people lead a better life and start a friendship. When they will need your product/offer/solution/service, they will surely call you. Who doesn’t want to buy from a friend?

I only have praises for sales as a profession as with every passing year I feel it’s only getting better and larger in its form. The followers of this religion are not going to come down in ties to come. I urge all new beginners to embrace this profession with all their heart and soul. This journey will end up as a magical one with no regrets at all. Happy Selling!

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