Of course the news has rocketed around the world about the unprecedented disaster that Hurricane Harvey has wreaked upon southeastern Texas. It has displaced thousands of people and damaged hundreds of thousands of homes. It has left downtown Houston literally under water. 6 million people are affected, with half a million affected severely. Damage is estimated to be upwards of $150 billion.
With this post, I’ll go ahead and conclude our series on the element of water. My previous posts covered protecting the spring–how to take care of that first spring of leads and keep it running; handling a flood–what to do when you’re suddenly overwhelmed by an influx of business; and riding the rising tide–staying abreast with constantly expanding opportunities. Everyone wants huge quantities of leads and opportunities–but what happens when they actually show up? You certainly have to be prepared.
Hurricane Harvey has served as an unbelievable demonstration for the catastrophic damage that the elements can bring. This can be related to the business world in this way: you have channels of communication that can potentially reach 7.5 billion people. What happens if you have a great product or service and manage to interest, say, 1 billion of them? Even 100 million? What would it be like to handle that kind of traffic? Population growth, in itself, can be devastating.
On the upside, Hurricane Harvey has served as a stellar example of humanity in the incredible outpouring of help that has occurred both locally, nationally and internationally to aid this area in crisis. In this amazing coming together in true American spirit, we can see that when times get tough, we’re not divided by gender, race, politics or anything else.
A Boom for Sales
With Pipeliner we are supporting sales. Sales, as the backbone of any economy, creates wealth and produces peace–despite the fact salespeople have come under constant criticism almost since the beginning of time. Believe it or not, sales and salespeople are playing a very key role in the restoration of southeastern Texas. Furnishings, automobiles (1 million cars are lost), TVs and homes all must be replaced, along with community infrastructures. These replacements certainly weren’t planned. The government, through FEMA, insurance companies and even charities are providing funds for these things, and it is down to salespeople to provide them. In fact it can be seen that this disaster for several million people, when all is said and done, is a boom for sales and does not negatively affect the economy. In turn, as they assist communities in putting it all back together, sales is in turn a boom for everyone else, too. We will see the socially intelligent and buyer-oriented seller succeed in the months and years to come, because they are speaking to the needs of the buyer and are fully aware of the networking effect of a good sale (recommandation is the currency of the future). If the seller, in this horrible situation for the buyer, not only demonstrates respect, understanding, empathy and but also aims for a winning situation they will see wonderful outcomes for their efforts.
Meaning in Life
The demonstration of humanity being seen today in Texas falls right into a another part of the philosophy that underlies Pipeliner CRM–the search for meaning in life. An entire school of thought was founded by Austrian psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl on this very subject. In fact, Frankl said that the search for meaning was life’s primary motivation.
With Pipeliner CRM, we’re helping salespeople–some of the most rejected people on Earth–find real meaning in their lives. But what we’re seeing today in Texas shows that the people there have certainly found meaning in rescuing and helping one another, while others from all over the world are assisting either financially or right there in person in the rescue efforts.
It is amazing to see this in a society that so often appears shallow, so often seems to be dedicated only to making money and buying things. Deep down we do know that while such pursuits may be nice, they bring no inner value or long-term satisfaction. Helping rescue a neighbor has much more importance than simply living a nice life and never speaking to your neighbor.
We’re certainly seeing all of these factors in play today in Texas, as whole communities come together, find meaning and rebuild. Now is the time for salespeople to demonstrate through their actions that a good sale creates wealth and produces peace. In any case, this is what must be done in Texas; they must build entiere cities and whole communities from scratch again. This will produce wealth, and as we have seen many times on television, peace, throughout this wonderful part of the USA.
This is the time for sales people to see first hand the importance of their profession and the impact on society that no one is really talking about: that sales people are truly wealth makers and peace producers. This is the time that salespeople can start to be proud of themselves just like the rescuers, firefighters, police officers, doctors and all other professions providing vital aid. This is the time to find meaning in their duties.
So salespeople, get up and start selling in the spirit that you should. Find the best solution for the buyer and engage that buyer in respect and dignity. Listen with empathy when you hear these terrible stories, and find a win-to-win in these tragic circumstances.
Finally, if you are able to do it all with a smile, and through a sale bring the buyer somewhat of a joyful experience, that buyer will recommend you.
This will surely bring meaning and satisfaction to your life–which is also what is needed in Texas today!
Comments