Everybody has something to sell

I get a little frustrated when people try to help me. Don’t get me wrong. We can all use some help sometimes. I just don’t like it when people insist on helping me when I don’t want any help. I don’t call that helping. I call it interfering.

I don’t question the motives of these helpers. I’m sure they have all the best intentions. They have discovered something that is valuable to them and want to share it with everyone.

If you have never seen the movie “The Big Kahuna” I highly recommend it. Three guys are at a conference selling industrial lubricant. Two of them are seasoned sales guys, and the other is a very religious kid fresh out of college.

To make a long story short the kid gets sent to talk to a potential client and ends up discussing his religious views while never mentioning industrial lubricants. This may seem noble to some. The main character is infuriated. The kid says he wanted to talk to the guy as a human being. Here’s how the main character responded.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or ‘How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.’ That doesn’t make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore; it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being; you’re a marketing rep.

I don’t like talking to marketing reps. I do it when I have to, but it’s work. They’re not doing me any favors. They’re trying to sell me something. Maybe it really is the best product on the market. I don’t really care. I’m not spending my free time with marketing reps.