One of the greatest impediments to genuine, selfless service is the dubiousness on the part of the recipient. Rather than thanking, “Finally an answer to my problems!”, people who have been around the block (it doesn’t take long) are more inclined to sit back and look at you suspiciously, wondering “what’s the catch?”
My sales team runs into this all the time when they call on doctors around the country. Anyone who has been courted by the traditional and unfortunately stereotypical salesperson whose primary motivation is making the sale – any sale – to hit quotas, get the bonus or make the mortgage is rightly hesitant when it comes to taking that next appointment. Finding the way to prove to those who were mistreated by a salesperson previously is no small task!
Fortunately, we have developed a reputation over time of being genuinely interested in the long-term success of our doctor clients, which comes, incidentally as a by-product of our central concern to put the patient first in every decision we make. That reputation goes a long way to overcoming the initial, almost instinctive reaction to the calling salesperson, but at the end of the day our team has to prove itself worthy of respect by consistently exceeding expectations.
I mentioned to my team in a company meeting this morning that whenever a salesperson (or anyone in the company for that matter) puts his or her needs first when dealing with a client, the circuit which connects us to them is shorted out. Moreover, whenever and wherever this happens we’re providing the client with an answer to their question: “What’s the catch?” And that answer is the wrong answer.
Genuine, selfless service is rare these days. Everyone, it seems, is trying to get something from someone. One of our central concerns at Energetix is to reprove that destructive pattern and introduce – like the homeopathic sarcodes we sell – a blueprint for healthy function. We get it right most of the time and when we don’t, we take great pains not to rationalize (neither sour grapes nor sweet lemons!) our mistakes.
Gregory Hake 
Much of this cynicism comes from people who have either been burned in their relationships with others or have heard stories of people who have. As someone who is interested in helping people in a selfless way, this can’t be something that becomes discouraging. It is important to not get jaded and to keep putting yourself out there with the same selflessness as was originally intended.
We also should make sure that we do not fall into the trap of thinking “where’s the catch” ourselves. People deserve a certain amount of respect automatically. Whether they lose that or gain more us up to them, but give people a clean slate when they start.
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There are a few factors that are necessary in order to allow the kinds of relationships and barriers removed that you are talking about to take place Gregg.
1. Quality products that truly make a difference in the world
2. Quality individuals as sales reps. For example, we bring in our sales reps for the quality of their character rather than the previous experience that they have. This allows us to on serving our clients rather than competing for our clients.
3. The highest quality of training available in the marketplace today. This includes well trained sales managers who are committed to the development of their sales reps.
4. Every person in the company being committed to providing the highest level of value possible in each and every moment and opportunity.
One of my personal visions which I know that you share with me Gregg includes sales being seen and acknowledged as a true profession, and the only way that that can happen is for CEO’s such as yourself being more interested in quality rather than quantity. Thank you for that Gregg!
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Your words apply aptly to health practitoners. To be genuinely interested in the people coming to us for the short and long term does provide the background conditions for something of healing as well as something of a life sharing to occur. Your words are clean and sure.
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Selfless motivations eventually will rule the day but as you’ve noted in other posts don’t wait for the parade lauding the effort. Often it will go unnoticed or sometimes even garner an adverse reaction. The point is in being selfless you don’t care about the outcome you do what you do because it is the right thing to do. As soon as the reaction (either way) becomes a motivator, it’s not selfless. I do find I love to work with appreciative people because the very act brings to everyone involved a completion of the circuit you mentioned.
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