Over 35 years ago I discovered sales. I was in university and realized I needed another part time job to make ends meet. I started a small business and used my bicycle to get around the city and sell advertising spaces in my publication. I just loved the whole experience of meeting with business owners and showing them how I could help them. As much as I loved the sales process, it occurred to me that sales wasn’t considered an honourable profession, and I couldn’t understand why it needed to be like this. I never had to compromise my integrity, or my value system, to be a successful sales professional. Yet the widely held perception about my craft was clouded with negativity, and the false belief, that a truly effective sales professional operates unscrupulously.
It was then, that I resolved to create a couple of life defining goals.
Firstly, I would pursue a career in sales. It was, and is, my passion and my purpose. Secondly, I wanted to prove that the most successful sales professionals are the ones who operate with honour and integrity. And no relationship, business or otherwise, can survive without these tenets.
Fast forward a couple decades later, and I’m proud to say, I still get the same deep sense of satisfaction from successful sales transactions, while still operating successfully without compromising ethics. Of course now, it’s gone beyond me as an individual, and I’ve extended my processes to my team and partners.
I’ve always believed, if you take care of the people, the business will take care of itself.
