Do You Care?
One of the biggest problems that I am witnessing in society today is how little people care. From supermarkets, public utilities, retail stores, and restaurants, nobody seems to want to help out anymore. Have we become numb to all of the electronics and social media sites? Have we become so self-absorbed that we turn a blind eye to ethics, principles, and morals? Has the political stage made us cynical? It seems that whatever was right in our world years ago is now wrong and vice versa. What are we to do?
I’m a firm believer in ethics and principles. I believe that if we align ourselves with principles, then only good things come out of it, even if it doesn’t appear that way at first. I have owned my own business now for over 37 years, and this theory has done my company and me well. I have said before in my other blogs on sales that as soon as I opened the doors to my company, I had to wear the hat of a salesperson. No matter what I am doing in my company, I am selling. What is the one trait that I can advise you on that will take you places beyond your own comprehension? Enter any situation and just care for the person opposite you. It’s really that simple, folks. If you care more for the person and what they will achieve, then you will be on the road to success.
I quickly learned as a young entrepreneur that it has nothing to do with me; it only has to do with what my client, my employee, my spouse, my friends, and my children want. Sales doesn’t stop with a client. We are salespeople everyday. If I want to have a good time out on the town with my wife, then I better know what it is that she wants out of it first and foremost. The same is true in a selling situation. If you care first about your client, the rest of the process will go smoothly. If you care first in the welfare of the sales relationship, sincere trust will come back and the client will give you their heart first and then their desires and ideas. Good-hearted collaboration will follow, and before you know it, the puzzle pieces will come together.
Do you remember years ago those teachers who made the most impact and impression on you? I know that I do. They were usually the toughest ones who pushed you hard and made sure you towed the line. What one trait could you tie to every one of them? Yes, the one important trait is that they cared. They cared about how well they did their job, and they cared about how well you learned, all to bring you to the next level in your life. I was a lucky kid when I grew up because not only did I have two parents that cared, I had a bunch of teachers who also cared. I could also add to my list quite a few of my friends’ parents who cared too. With that many mentors, I guess it was easy to choose the road that I decided to take.
No matter your role in life, I urge you to care enough for the person opposite you. As a salesperson, the biggest compliment that I get from a client is that I cared and that I listened. That’s when I know that I did my job and did it well. When you care first, listening becomes a natural phenomenon. Like I said earlier, it’s really not about me, it’s only about them. Imagine how good all of your relationships will be if you just master that one trait. I can tell you that it was easy for me because of all the wonderful adults that I grew up with and the ones that I chose to travel with on that road we call life. Life is really not difficult; most of the time we make it that way. Think about it!
Bon Appetit!
Tim Holick (Food A Holick)