Sales Lessons from the Garbage Men #1
Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 6:09AM 
Bear gets the garbageSince childhood, I have been fascinated with watching garbage men engage in their trade, and yesterday was no exception. Even if I am on the phone, when I hear the massive whine of the truck coming down the hill to my end of the street, I turn to watch out my 2nd floor window. The driver & 'shotgun' jump down from the truck to transfer the neighborhood's waste into the truck's all-consuming mouth. They joke and carry on while they work, oblivious to any social stigma attached to their profession. Pulling the lever, the truck's jaws compress & swallow our waste into its huge belly. In a blink, they climb back into the truck and charge back up the hill, leaving us with empty bins to be filled for next week's visit.
What, you ask is the sales lesson I draw from the garbage men? Well, there are many, but the top two are these:
1) Sales is about managing the flow of energy. The flow of new business cannot happen if your ‘leads book’ is clogged with stuck deals or poorly qualified, disinterested, dis-empowered or underfunded prospects. Make time every week to take out the garbage. Let it go and move on to new horizons.
2) Be light-hearted as you sort through your leads to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some deals are not meant to happen — not yet anyway. Have fun sorting things out. Joke with prospects as you seek to understand their situation, motivations, dreams and obstacles. Bless them with your love & let them go if the dynamics are not right for doing business together. You may find they will recycle (or refer you) sometime down the road!
Reader Comments (7)
Chris,
This has been my experience too. On a practical side, getting rid of "stuff" helps you focus on what's really there so you aren't distracted.
On a more esoteric side, it seems that several principles may be involved:
a) nature abhors a vacuum... if you get rid of stuff other stuff (that you are more intentional about hopefully) will enter to fill the void
b) when you are "holding on" to something emotionally that always seems to make it harder to manifest. When it is lighter and more fun it seems to manifest more quickly.
I think this applies to physical space too. Recently I cleaned out my home office and energy, ideas, and opportunities seem to be flowing better after that too.
Thanks for the thought provoking post.
This is a lesson I expect we learn many times over, at deeper and deeper levels throughout life! Letting go of all manner of stuff we may have accumulated over the years seems to be a huge key to making room for new energy and opportunities. Susan, I especially like your point about how it is harder to manifest when we are holding on. When understood in their original purity, many ancient techniques of meditation and esoteric practices teach the importance of allowing ones intention or thought to dissolve into the great void of consciousness in order for the laws of nature to actually create or manifest the desired outcome. Holding on is counter to the creative process.
Could it be that the "big sales event" (offering) in life is what life is trying to sell us on the largest of spiritual scales. Once we investigate the offering (sale event) that exists in life we may come to know we are all of that offering ourselves and in fact that is all there is. Myself, I choose the language of love expressing itself as totality of existence as the offering that I am---to explain it. For me this is a way of explaining the powerful under currents of offering, sales and life. In truth, I think I am standing and watching the whole thing go on.
Mark, what an expansive perspective! I am reminded of the Bob Dylan line from I Threw it all Away, on my favorite album, Nashville Skyline -- "Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round, Love and only love, it can't be denied." Can you hear the tune?
I enjoy you because of all of the hard work on this site. My mom loves doing research and it's really easy to see why. My spouse and i know all relating to the compelling manner you create rewarding thoughts by means of the web site and in addition inspire participation from visitors on the article and my girl is now starting to learn a whole lot. Take pleasure in the remaining portion of the new year. Your conducting a dazzling job.
Thanks for your comment Taren! Glad you are enjoying the posts, and best wishes to you and your family ;-)
When we lived in Student Housing the garbage trucks were behemouth and BEAUTIFUL. It was the highlight of my toddler son's day when they arrived to lift the big dumpsters skyward, shake and bang away.
That is when I learned to Truly appreciate the garbage man: seeing him through my son's eyes. Now, you've brought even more magic into the formula. Energy and keeping the cans full so there's something to shake out when he arrives.... Ooh! I love it!