ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
The sensation vitae of active involvement and engagement in life are often more important to the professional salesperson than any other valuable consideration.
People who are totally absorbed with the business of living and approach life as an art form always will get more back from their work than they put into it, sometimes in some unexpected ways.
Simple things like . . .
The feel of the clay between the fingers to the potter.
The smell of photochemistry to the photographer in the darkroom.
The touch of freshly turned earth in the field to the farmer as well as the ever-present sensation of the sun on the back of the neck.
The unique sound of leather on horseback to the cowboy or the low, sweet, rumble and comforting vibration of the Harley V-Twin to the motorcyclist.
The joy of a phrase, perfectly written to the poet or the composer;
The smooth balanced stroke of the professional pool player with the hand-made Meucci and the solid click the balls make when perfectly hit to the center of the pocket.
The exquisite execution of a musical line performed by a master musician, only made possible by the unseen endless hours spent practicing in a small room alone with his instrument.
And to the professional salesman, even with the seemingly endless plane flights, with mediocre food, stale recycled air and occasionally unfriendly attendants, are welcome challenges on their pursuit of the next big opportunity and their brand of happiness.
For each of these individuals, those brief moments in their quest contain the priceless pleasure of competence and confidence in self, born of the great attention to the small detail and the persistence sufficient to push a project through to completion in spite of everything.
All these delights are beyond description to those who have experienced them.
This is not work to them. It’s exactly the opposite . . . it’s play.
This is the game of professional salesmanship at it’s best . . . and they’re serious about it!
THE REWARD
It’s almost impossible to explain to the uninitiated; but to the salesperson, the action of doing the work is nearly the equivalent of a reward in and of itself. They feel alive; they are alive, and they’re enjoying the action. This is what they get in exchange for their efforts quite in addition to any financial or monetary compensation.
Hang around them for awhile, and you’ll quickly observe that everything else is just sort of waiting until they can get “back in the game.” They need to get out there in front of the client. They hunger for it actually. Deny them the pleasure of the ebb and flow of live communication and their mood suffers and morale can go into a steep decline. To them, the denial of the delight of active involvement while engaged in what is their passion is to condemn them to the sidelines of life.
If they really love what they’re doing, it’s not work, it’s pleasure! It’s what life is about. They want to produce. They crave the chance to demonstrate their competence at overcoming what can seem to others as impossible barriers.
Even with the occasional temporary setbacks, they love it. Every bit of it. They are passionate about it. There is no barrier too great when they really want it. And it’s valuable only because they want it to do it and for no other important reason. It’s almost as if they get more energy back from the activity than they put out and it seems to feed on itself without limit.
And to get paid to do it at the same time . . . well now . . . that’s the best of both worlds isn’t it?
These and more are all part of the romance of salesmanship and the qualities resident in the professional salesperson.
If you are someone who is really aspires to succeed in sales, you must find the activity a totally fascinating, consuming and totally absorbing experience. In fact it has to be. For if you are not totally engaged, you are not likely to be among the most successful, because you are competing with others who do find it so compelling and absorbing.
Ironically, money is the way we keep score of how we’re doing in sales, but it is not the real object. The real object is simply the playing of the game.
And for the true players, as long as there is some way to keep score, whether that be with money or any other scorecard, they will be in the game . . . and will be playing to win!
daniel w. jacobs
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