Your Salesman Sentence
Last Saturday I attended my cousin Tim Griffin’s funeral. He wasn’t a sales person, he was a journeyman plumber. Died at the age of 63. Same age as me.
The pastor and his close family members each got up to speak of what a good person Tim was, and by the end of the service, his life sentence, his legacy was clear. He was a loving, committed dad to his two sons and the son he lost years before in a drowning accident.
The fragrance of Tim’s loving spirit filled the reception as relatives from all over came to pay respects and share stories. For me it was a bit of a clan reunion as I met cousins from age 74 to 48 and some who I have not seen for over 50 years. We shared our stories of Tim and what we had been up to all these years. Each cousin that I conversed with in effect was telling me about their lives and the life sentence they had wrote on each f their lives.
Over the past few days I reflected on Tim’s life legacy and was struck by a strange but interesting idea. What if only customers came to your funeral?
We all leave a legacy, or a “life sentence,” Dr. Tim Elmore would say, but what would be “Your Salesman Sentence?” That’s right, let’s assume that only your customers showed up at your funeral. No family, no relatives or friends. What might they say about you, the sales person they knew and did business with as they gathered to pay final respects to you as their sales person?
You don’t have to wait till you are gone to write “Your Salesman Sentence.” You are actually writing “Your Salesman Sentence” every day, at every meeting, and in every telcon with your customers. And you can determine what “Your Salesman Sentence” will be from today by your attitude, actions and service you provide your clients.
Why not reflect on what your customers would say “Your Salesman Sentence” is today. Write it out and see if you like it. If you don’t, then change it starting today with every interaction you have as a sales person. Make sure your sentence leaves a positive legacy you and your organization can be proud of. Make a difference, be a salesperson who left the world a better place.
Have a great week living Your Salesman Sentence!