One weekend afternoon, I was in a beer garden and got to chatting with the woman sitting across from me. I learnt she had a husband, a young child, and, as the conversation continued, that she worked as a prostitute.
“You must experience some terrible shit,” I said. “How do you not take that home with you? Doesn’t it wear you down?”
She shook her head.
“I find something to love in all my clients.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
Her humility was commendable, and it taught me a valuable lesson.
Business is not about selling. When all you care about is the outcome, you will fail every time.
Business is about connecting, engaging, and solving problems.
It’s about love.
Someone, somewhere, is laying awake late at night, thinking about a need that your product can meet.
When you get on the phone, that should be your concern. Not the possible sale; the real person with the real issues on the other end of the line.
They need to understand you and, more importantly, the value you represent. The product is only a means to that end.
Help them, and the rest will follow.