The art of selling is a different world in government
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
Zig Ziglar figured it out many years ago, but it has taken me several decades to come to this conclusion: The art of selling is likely the most sacred secular exercise in which humans engage.
My employees laugh at me when I say sales is like dating. I’ll spare you the analogous details I use at work, but will say the old phrase, “love makes the world go ‘round” has a sales component to it. The art of selling is important when the purchaser has the option to say no.
Most people hate the idea of sales, and I used to in my early years as well, until I saw it as the key to a successful business. Many break out in a sweat if they have to go look for a job (the art of selling one’s self) and breathe a sigh of relief when they are successful at that.
Of course, if in private enterprise, they are then shoving the sales burden for continuously filling their paycheck to others in the organization who do indeed successfully perform the sales function every day. In private enterprise, I don’t care if you are the janitor, you are dependent on the sales force consistently and continuously selling a quality service or product in order for you to be paid.
What I am really saying is that in private enterprise, the customer daily makes the decision whether or not to buy your services or products. The sales staff (and in bigger companies also the marketing staff) have to perform at the highest levels, but ultimately the customer is in control. Companies the size of Procter and Gamble know this and so do the local mom- and-pop shops.
It is a whole different world in government, and the more socialistic the government becomes, the worse the problem is for the consumer.
Some may remember the old Wendy’s commercials that poked fun at the Soviet Union with the mock fashion runway exhibiting “day wear” (a gray dressed model) and “evening wear” (the same gray dressed model accessorized with a flashlight).
Just as I have come to respect the professionalism required of an excellent salesperson, I have come to respect even more the power of the purchaser. I very much like to have a say on what I spend my money.
Socialism robs us of the power of purchasing. Goods and services are thrust at us with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. In forced purchases (anything provided by the government, including among other things, schools), the personnel of the providing organization soon adopt the attitude that their performance doesn’t matter – for they are inoculated from the power of purchasing. Taxes are collected and they are paid, regardless of performance.
Of course, completely incompetent performance usually kills an enterprise – even in the government – but it takes a very long time in government. Poster child example: Amtrak, where even though the customer has a limited power of purchasing (they can choose to ride the train or not), inferior service continues into its sixth decade. There are many other examples, too numerous to mention, where government takeover has resulted in poor customer satisfaction.
What genuinely puzzles me is people are willing to give up the power of purchasing for some sort of perceived security blanket from government provided services. I don’t want to do that. I want to buy as many of the goods and services as I possibly can in a free choice environment.
I want more choices, not fewer. An excellent example of how more choices can help is the story of AT&T, the old Ma Bell. At the time it was broken up, there were dire warnings about how phone service would falter and fail. Look at what happened. We have more choices with more features at lower costs than ever before. Ask a teenager if they understand “long-distance charges” and they will stare at you blankly. Ask a teenager to demonstrate the use of a rotary dial phone and they haven’t a clue.
I am with Patrick Henry on this one: “Give me liberty (to choose) or give me death.” The power of purchasing is the power to unleash efficiency.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.