An email group I belong to allows us suppliers of promotional products to toot our horn once a month. Today was one of those days. While the purpose of the exercise is to sell ourselves to the customer members of the group, we often, due to the nature and quality of the people involved, get to grapple with deeper questions of purpose and the nature of our profession.
Today brought up a topic that I can only describe (non sexistly- just substitute “Mommy”) as the “What do you do, Daddy?” question. We have all had to answer this on occasion. In this case, the topic was really, “How do you answer the “What is your business?” elevator speech.
Reading the responses from my esteemed colleagues filled me with joy, wonder and contentment because I realized that I get to earn my living as a sales professional and it is an honorable profession.
I quietly pondered my answer while sitting on the deck at sunset, watching a million colors of red to deep purple march across the sky, obscured only by the occasional puff of smoke from a truly fine Perdomo Reserve La Tradicion Cabinet Selection Robusto cigar, a birthday gift from a good friend.
It was easy to enjoy the moment because it is the first time in several days that the temperature is low enough that I am not sweating through my clothes. I have a cup of “coffee talk” with a healthy shot of Irish cream whiskey at my side. The fading light of day is being held at bay by a headlamp of ecologically friendly LED’s so I can see the keyboard. (There is no appreciable glow from the front of a good cigar to light the way.)
Thinking of what my job and business does is, in the strict sense of our profession, applicable to almost every business and industry in which sales professionals ply the trade. If you wish to use it as a base for your own answer, take out the references to my business and apply your own.
“I work in an industry that allows me to help every manner of person and activity survive, thrive and prosper by providing printed advertising, promotional and inspirational material that helps them succeed in their endeavors. My company is at the pinnacle of a business that exists for one reason only: We help hard working, intelligent people be heroes to those people and institutions necessary to their survival. Our products and services make a difference in this world.”
To all my friends and colleagues in the business of selling, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart that I can walk with you down the sometimes torturous path that we often travel in the pursuit of our life’s work. Thank you for forcing me to think about what we do and why we do it. Thank you for helping me understand that without helping fulfill the dreams of others, I can have no dreams of my own.”
Happy Selling!