In my life I have always been in or around sales and marketing. From insurance, to combat/dance lessons, to products, to ideas and even systems. Selling is something Ive just been enmeshed with for so long that now I help train others to build businesses of their own. Its an interesting life and has taught me very valuable insight that I would like to share with you. Not really for your gain, (...because then Id be selling you something) but because I want to rant... We all know that we have to sell something in order to make a dollar in a capitalist economy (service•product, time=money) if we are to have order and preserve the function of justice, egalitarianism and harmony while we live. Barter!, you may say. Yes, bartering can do us all a lot of good but will always run into a stopping point with its lack of liquidity, accessibility and value at some point. American culture demonizes sales people in a way european and asian cultures do not. People feel guilty when they say no to someone. The sad part is no one in America seems to know how to say no anymore. Let alone please, thank you, you are very welcome, excuse me and after you. Its something psychological that comes from the nurtured child as they grow into their culture. And if you think thats a generalized-blasé statement, visit other countries to see what I mean. Courtesy has gone lacking. Unintentionally so. Maybe its the emotional disconnect we permit ourselves with owning our devices. Driving in the car with four friends is great, but when you count the fact that everyone has a social networking device, and are on it with someone anytime they choose, youre really driving in the car with four thousand people. The beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time define your culture. This is typically circumstantial and until you change your circumstance, is seen as natural. Natural is often seen as the right way to many people but you and I both know that just because something is natural doesnt mean its healthy. I mean, have you looked at our environment lately? Are we natural? Generally speaking, I love sales and marketing because you get to see with eyes you never had before. Just like when you physically fight someone. You see a side of them that wasnt visible before. Some fight with skill, poise, grace and love. Others fight brutishly, self-serving to win whatever the cost purely for the material gain. Both arent wrong for what they achieve (winning is good), but one certainly makes the whole process much more uncomfortable than the other. The greatest insight I can think to offer is that sales and marketing are happening around us ALL, all of the time. We are so inundated by it that we dont even realize we are in a culture of it. That it creates and builds families and institutions. That within its very ethos it is neutral until corporations/entities/people/a person get(s) ahold of it and applies their key principles, characteristics and motives (self) to it. And thats where the consumer ought to stand and make their voice heard. Say no or say yes. Be discerning. Be courteous. And qualify with research and a reproach of self-awareness that is fair and complemented with reason to confer what is morally just. /rant
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 17:55:37 +0000