Get Your Taste of Success Through Service

By Bob Kaelin

I’ll never forget my very first sales call fresh out of college.

I was working for a pharmaceutical company and my job was to service pharmacies. I had been given a territory that hadn’t been serviced for months.

I prepared to call on the ad manager for a particularly large chain. I had done all my homework and had sheets and sheets of carefully-prepared documents with pretty charts and graphs.

I walked in and politely introduced myself and the company I was representing to the manager.

His first words were, “I thought your company was dead. I haven’t seen a salesperson in five months.”

“I understand why you would feel that way,” I responded.

We sat down in his office and I continued. “I’ve prepared some estimates that show some good products we could sell, what your margins will be, and how much money you’ll make.”

Shockingly, he grabbed my papers and threw them across the office and growled, “Don’t ever come into my office and tell me what I should do.”

I just sat there, too stunned to even move. I was thinking “This is what I spent 4 years in college to do?”

He then declared what product he was going to sell and what ad he was going to run and told me to take that to the other stores.

I walked out in a daze, almost ready to quit. I figured that I’d never be able to see him again for sure.

But I pulled myself together and went to the next store. The manager there said, “Oh, if Pete said that’s what he’s going to do, then I’ll buy twice what he did.”

I had similar responses with the rest of the stores.

What if I had given up? I’m convinced that had I quit at that moment, I would never have enjoyed the same level of success that I do today.

Too many people in network marketing give up before they get a taste of success.

Sometimes this is simply because they lack the emotional fortitude to work through rejection.

Other times it’s because they define success selfishly. But when you define success as making a positive difference in the health and wealth of others, it becomes much easier to stick with it.

Success is inevitable for people who serve. As Albert Schweitzer said,

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will be truly happy will be those who have sought and found how to serve.”

This isn’t a selling business; it’s a giving business.

That simple shift in perspective will make all the difference in your Max business. Don’t try to sell your friends and family — give them the opportunity to improve their health and wealth.

Take a genuine interest in others. Listen to them and their needs. As Dale Carnegie said,

“You can make more friends in two months by being interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”

If you find yourself worrying if people will reject you, understand that you’re still focusing on yourself. Overcome that fear by shifting your focus onto your prospects.

It’s not about you — it’s about them. It’s about how you can make a difference in their lives. Focus on that and rejection is much harder to deal with.

Personal success tastes great — but it’s much sweeter and longer-lasting when it comes through service.