A lot of us have grown accustomed to the idea that the purpose of business is to make money. From this we assume this means that the highest value of a business is money. So we’ve grown to believe that businesses are evil. We cheer when someone talks about tearing down evil business.
I see this thinking in many folks from both sides of the business transaction. The way we interact reveals what we really believe about business and sales.
I’ve seen sales people ask questions like, “What will it take to get you to buy this item/service?” If I look closely at the question, they aren’t trying to help me, they’re trying to make their quota. I’ve also seen other business owners and MLM participants have a really hard time selling their wares. Deep down they believe they’re taking money from people rather than providing a service that is valuable.
Then on the buyer’s side, we put our names on do not call lists. We put up “no soliciting” signs. We hang up the phone. We slam the door. We are extremely wary of sales people. We think the sales person is trying to take our money.
Giving vs Taking
We’ve grown accustomed to the idea that business takes from us, and any giving is done only through charity.
Business isn’t supposed to be this way though. In a great business transaction, both parties are supposed to walk away happy with the transaction. What if we saw business as giving rather than taking?
If the sales person saw their job as giving instead of taking, they might see their job as helping their customer to solve a problem. If a transaction is completed, while the interaction when completely different, the transaction itself is the same. The only difference is in in the way we saw the transaction before it started.
If us consumers saw business transactions as the company giving rather than taking, we would be more open to hearing the sales presentation. Maybe this person can help me solve a problem I have.
Great businesses give rather than take. These businesses are focused more on what they provide than on what they receive. Usually these businesses give more value than they charge for their product or service.
Giving and Our Calling
When we are searching to discover our calling, we might be stuck in a mindset that our calling necessarily has to do with some sort of charity or non-profit organization. But we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just this.
It might be that our calling involves getting paid for what we do. This is all right. Just because we are getting paid doesn’t mean that it doesn’t count, or that we’re taking from people. We can provide excellent work, make a meaningful impact on the world, and get paid doing it.
As long as our focus is on the impact we’re having on others, we are giving, not taking, in the transaction.
What about you? Describe a time when you bought something and felt the company was giving rather than taking.
