Nothing evokes a stronger negative reaction from the leaders of many Pregnancy Help Centers than to suggest to them that their primary function is SALES.
They will assure you that sales is NOT their primary function. Ministry is!
Doesn’t “ministry” sound so much nicer than “sales?”
Sales or Ministry?
I would argue that “ministry” and “sales” have much more in common than most people think.
Actually, I believe the two words are interchangeable. (Crazy, I know.)
The reason many folks give “sales” such a bad rap is because they harbor a belief that sales is about manipulating someone into a transaction that they didn’t really want to enter into.
They undoubtedly have at least one nightmare story they can share with you to prove that their belief system about sales is correct.
I’m sure we all have stories about manipulative sales people who pushed us into getting something we didn’t really want, or need, and then we experienced “buyer’s remorse.”
Radically “Other-centered”
However, if you ask folks who cringe when they hear the word “sales” to share any experiences they’ve had about sales people who introduced products or services into their lives that have made their lives measurably better in some way, they will surely be able to share such stories with you.
THAT is what I call sales: the process of introducing products or services into people’s lives that make their lives measurably better.
And it’s why I call sales the most honorable profession there is.
Sales, done like it is supposed to be done, seeks only to improve the well-being of the buyer.
If a salesperson’s product or service cannot be shown to improve the well-being of the buyer, then the salesperson should walk away from the sale, or even better, refer the prospective buyer to a product or service that the salesperson knows WILL benefit the buyer, even if it is a competitor’s product.
In other words, sales done correctly is radically “other-oriented.”
Wait a second.
What other vocation is radically “other-oriented?”
That’s right. MINISTRY.
So if I claim that the Pro-Life Business Industry is losing because of poor sales performance, and “sales” and “ministry” are interchangeable, does that mean that the PLBI is losing because of poor “ministry performance?”
Indeed it does.
More to come…
Regards,
Brett