During my short stint with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I learned sales is not for me. I encountered a shallow mission statement regarding serving customers but learned profit was their true focus. Upper management gave sermons on market growth and shared their visions of world domination. But no matter how many company events and dinners were given, I still saw how our want for gross compensation caused us to fail our customers.
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT
We were trained that before the customer comes through the door, our job is to drive the sale. How we introduce the customer to the vehicle sizes, their prices and the protection options are all to persuade customers that they want what they purchased. This made sense when customers had a need for the vehicle and package I could offer. There’s only so much that can be offered before an interaction becomes forced and artificial.
Having the ability to see customers as people is a gift for customer service, but becomes a burden in the sales arena. Respecting customers by not shoving a sale down their throat is not encouraged. The art of persuasion is taught, manipulation is encouraged and the culture revolves around how great someone can conceal their swindling.
After a year of trying to figure out how I could navigate the demands of sales I realized there was no space for me.
DO IT FOR THE LOVE
After my stint in sales, I would love to make that industry illegal. Being focused on profit versus offering value to customers through our service felt unnatural. Forced interactions for the opportunity to make money gives off a cheap feeling that makes customers run for the hills.
Bill Gates discussed the challenge that companies face when they take their print and move it to the electronic realm. Consuming written work electronically lacks depth, writers have to provide deep and extremely up-to-date information that they can explore at will. They need to have audio, and possibly video.
What online audiences want are full experiences they can immerse themselves in. When our focus is on monetization and meeting platform goals our work loses value. Humans want a consistent stream of engaging content that they can buy into when they want.
In, On Writing Well, Zinsser gave us the advice to not become the prisoner of a preconceived plan. What matters is that we are offering the purest form of ourselves through our content as creators. A genuine connection is what brings our audience back for more. Once this is established , consumers will then want to invest in our monetary endeavors.