Sales May Be a Practice of Religion

"Discover your Self through Selling"

If a spiritual practice "includes any activity that one associates with cultivating spirituality" then selling can be a spiritual practice and SALES may be a PRACTICE of religion for you.

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SalesPractice.com - The Definitive Source for Sales Education on the Internet. -Jeff Blackwell

Jeff,

Excellent insight.

Everyday we wake up with, "how should I be," "what I ought to do," "what should I avoid being," and "what I ought to avoid doing," and rely on many other value judgments as well.

This is all focused on what is best choice and where is the enjoyment and the avoidance of struggle if necessary, always focusing on the greatest good.

These are choices based on our concept of Virtues hoping to be Right instead of Wrong, Good as opposed to Bad, Ethical as opposed to Unethical and Moral instead of Immoral.

Of course all of these are highly personal decisions. A murderer can also justify his or her actions based on moral principals.

The bottom line for me regarding selling can be seen in David Hume the Scottish philosopher. He believed that reason is a slave of our passions.

People are not compelled by reason alone but the virtue it ultimately manifests.

And whatever criteria validates these decisions does not come from concrete science but the religion of our beleifs.

Again, very good. -John Voris

I don't equate spirituality with religion. I say that as a person whose life is largely driven by my own spirituality.

I don't want to get into a lot of Webster stuff but I do know that "religion" and "ligament" are both derived from the same source. Think bonding or connecting. Take it a step further and think US AGAINST THEM--and that's not a good thing.

Three things come to mind with regard to the question. First, I see similarities between the doctrine of salvation, popularized in the last century, and the "All you have to do" indoctrination performed on new sales recruits. Glossy brochures for some religious persuasions often look like they came from the same printer as sales organizations use.

But I'm really talking about RELIGIOSITY, aren't I.

That brings to mind the second observation. Anyone that can't see the religiosity presence in that black sheep segment of direct sales called MLM must be blind or simply less traveled. And yes--US AGAINST THEM can be spotted in that arena once in a while.

We must always examine our personal core beliefs. Part of that consists of examining the source.

Lastly, Hill's Think and Grow Rich is perhaps the most often quoted book among sales types. It IS a book on metaphysics and that overlaps into spiritual studies. -Gary A Boye

I wanted to add the following definitions of "Religion" in case there are any misunderstandings:

1. A collection of practices, based on beliefs and teachings that are highly valued or sacred.
2. Any practice that someone or some group is seriously devoted to.
3. Any ongoing spiritual practice one engages in, in order to shape their character or improve traits of their personality.

-Jeff Blackwell

By those definitions anything that is done can be considered a religion as long as it has value to it.

For many of us there is value in the teachings that tying your shoes before you walk around is a good idea, and this idea is practiced daily.

I'm not saying that the definition is right or wrong, but by the nature it implies then I would agree that for many selling is a religion. We find value in the lessons that we have been taught (by tutor, mentor or life) on how to communicate, and therefore sell, and we put them into action almost daily.

Cheers,

Kevin -KTjia