Somewhere in this country a desperate liberal arts major is held prisoner. Daily a gun is put to their head and they are asked to produce a quote from some venerable sage of the arts. The quote stands like the message in a fortune cookie, inscrutable, ripped from its original context and wrapped in a cookie, but a cookie of a different kind, the kind of cookie that my web browser asks me if I want to save and accept.

A little more than a year ago we hired a sales consultant named Jack. We have “Jack” meetings via speakerphone every other Friday where we are coached on our ability to help prospective students “get clear” on whether or not they should be here. New ages sales is all about clarity. Ann thinks of him as a “Charlie” character as we’ve never met him or even seen a picture. In this analogy we are the sales angels. We work on phone skills and basic sales and marketing. We’ve gotten clearer on our admissions process. Everything is clearer. The end results of all these meetings have been good, very real skills have been enhanced and the school improved. However, the subtext is of course the sales paradigm, which takes things that you care about and co modifies them. It takes intangibles and reshapes them into features and benefits. It puts people in boxes, puts nice bows on the boxes, and puts them out on the shelf for sale.

So, as part of this process I have been signed up for emails that come to me daily with a sales quote. I imagine the poor liberal arts major tortured into re-contextualizing all the great works of literature into sales speak. Those of you in the ivory tower, do not take this meme lightly, it has transformed your charges from students into clients. It has shifted the roll of educator to entertainer and turned knowledge into product. Let as not forget dear Marxists that capitalism functions according to the engine of lack, you have to buy low and sell high to move forward. There are empty seats in your classroom for a reason. For the degree to mean something, lots of people have to lack it. You have to have extreme poverty to produce great wealth, that’s just how it works. So with your power, as part of this system, you must acknowledge and act on your responsibilities.

Today’s example and the inspiration for this blog:

"It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do no do. "
John Baptiste Moliére (1622-1673)
French playwright
sales check:
it took a lot to bring in your customers...
how's your internal sales culture?
sales check:
Everyone in your organization can (and often does) have a direct impact on the sales process and your customers. Be sure that everyone is on board, sending the right messages (directly and indirectly) to your customers.
Through your daily interactions with those in other departments, help people understand that the customer is paying the bills and everyone within the organization serves the customer first. Don’t encourage, condone or contribute to negative discussions about the customer or prospect. Focus instead on how your organization helps customers solve their challenges and improve their business or personal lives.
Be responsible and just sell...