This is more of a vent session than an article but I digress. Recently I have run into some unsavory sales people in the field. Actually, I personally haven’t had interactions with these people, my clients have. Which is worse. As a person that works in sales, energy sales at that (which is chalk full of unsavory people), I try to shelter my clients from the sales slime that I know is out there. Try as I might, the slime seems to come around sooner or later. It’s not the “salesy” pitch or the tacky suits that bother me. It’s the stretch of facts. Now I understand I’m not necessarily in a profession that is known for its ethics but I do expect that people in general should have some type of moral compass, no? 

So I had to ask myself why do these people throw all ethics out the window for a quick sale? I can tell you. Quotas. Instead of focusing on building long lasting relationships, which take time, they opt for a short sale because it’s easier. What they don’t tell you is that over the course of time, long lasting relationships not only pay out more but are also more fulfilling in general. The client that has bought your product for years is way more likely to refer you to their clients. The sale of one person then becomes 6 or more. Successful selling is about the transfer of trust. If sales organizations would push this type of fundamentals instead of shoving quotas down peoples’ throats, they would probably have my clients. As for MY sales organization, we are in it for the long haul and choose to do right by our clients in gaining their trust. I guess you can call it a choice. All I know is that I have been putting out a lot of fires lately on the account of misinformation from idiot sales people. So, if you are one of the above; please stop, you’re starting to piss me off. 

Written by Kristin DeBias