I sell therefore I am

People are often defined by what they do for a living. When you meet someone new, a frequent icebreaker question is, "so what kind of work do you do?" My father was a fleet service clerk. My brother manages a warehouse. My sister-in-law manages a Disney Store. My wife is a mother and a teacher. I have friends who are doctors, and lawyers, and project managers. I know people who own businesses, work on computers, write books, install heating and air conditioning systems.

I've spent the last few days in two nursing homes. Not as a patient, and not as an employee. I was at the facilities because I sold the corporation that owns them, some hardware and some software. That's what I do for a living. I sell. I've been selling for most of my professional career. Whether it was beds in a nursing home when I was an Admission Director. Whether it was social services, or intake services, or teaching services, or Internet based software. I sell.

What I like about selling is the fact that I help people. There are salespeople who are inherently not good people. Like the lady who sold us our first house. She was an outright crook. She convinced Cyndi and I to make her our "dual agent" because we had no idea what that really meant. We had no idea that your signature on a contract cut out the guy who was helping us find a home. A friend. Then there's the used car salesman, who wants to get a car off the lot at all costs. No matter what the condition the car is in. I've been sold some lemons and I know others who have been too.

When you care about the things you sell, in my opinion, it makes all the difference. I spent three days seeing how the labor of love our developers have created truly helps people. It's an eye opener for a guy like me, who previously spent years selling software to companies without seeing the end result first-hand.

I sell something that actually helps improve lives. I sell something that makes people's jobs easier. I sell something that will continue to improve health care. How cool is that?

I'm pretty damn proud of the people I work for, and extremely proud of the people I work with. I've known that since I took this job 18 months ago (today). And seeing the faces of the people we help, hearing the relief we can bring to them, working through their fears and anxieties...that really sweetens the deal.