Selling on purpose

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but as a young new seller, I was totally money motivated. The thought of earning whatever I wanted, making lots of money on commission and what I could buy with that money was appealing enough to jump from being on the air over to the "dark side" and go into sales.

Then it happened... While attending a Don Beveridge seminar, I had an epiphany.

Don Beveridge was an early influencer in my career. I attended many of his seminars and had the pleasure of having many conversations with Don. Early in your career, having a guide that can point you in the right direction is helpful. The epiphany happened when Don spoke these words:

"I will not ask for your business unless I can first come up with a plan for improving it."

There it was — a purpose for doing what we do. I want to improve businesses, help them grow, reach their potential and derive the satisfaction of knowing my help and advice had a part in their success. Indeed, an "ah-ha" moment set the course for a successful sales career.

A couple of weeks ago, we held our final Sales Essentials one-day training session, and one of the key takeaways we always hear about is when we share the Don Beveridge quote. Knowing why you are doing this and what the purpose is can be a powerful motivator.

As we begin the new year, we encourage you to pause and reflect on why you do what you do. What's your purpose? Your purpose will lead to passion, and passion will lead to many great opportunities for you.

As marketing and sales professionals, we are uniquely positioned to be on the front lines of economic success and prosperity in our markets. We put buyers and sellers together with our communication platforms and resources and provide the fuel for the economic engine. In today's business environment, our work is more important than ever. Using this as the foundation for selling advertising is motivating to me. How about you?

Happy New Year!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.