Let me break it down a bit: let’s say you work for a company
who pays you a set amount per year/month/week/hour. If they are at all
organized, they have metrics by which you are measured to assess your Return on
Investment (ROI). Many companies have annual reviews, and some have more
regular meetings to ascertain if you are earning your keep. If you are unaware
of the procedure, I can tell you without a doubt that there are people above
you who are talking about you and your performance at regular intervals.
Because, in fact, they are being judged on their ROI based on your ROI… If you
make your bosses look good, you stay and get a raise. If they cannot see that
you are making money for them, an entirely different conversation is happening
behind closed doors. And sometimes, employees are let go when they had little
idea that their job was on the line.
So, how is that better than daily going out and chasing
deals that pay you based directly on your performance? I think commission sales
in some way is more honest. Not that non-commission or salaried employment is
dis-honest, but that it doesn’t give you direct feedback so many times you
simply do not know where you are. If you are on commission, and you have no
paychecks coming in, you know you haven’t been making deals that close. There
is a direct relation between performance and ROI. Granted, sometimes deals just
go south when no one did anything wrong and you may in fact have worked
incredibly hard. The other side of that coin is that there are deals that fall
into your lap sometimes that required little effort and paid big. It all works
out in the wash, as they say.
Whether you are paid on commission or otherwise, the
scripture has something to say about our labor: “Whatever you do, work at it
with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for human masters…”
(Colossians
3:22-24) When you look at the context of this particular verse, you will
note that Paul is actually speaking to slaves. So the word “masters” is literal
in this case, when held contextually. The implication and application therein
is clear: when working, give it all you got, as if you were working directly
for God.
Stop and think about that… digest it a bit. Pretend for a
moment that God is your boss, and the He signs your paycheck each
week/month/deal (whenever). Whoa!! When I put myself into this scenario, it is
freaking me out just a little… The All-powerful, All-knowing, Creator of all
things would be giving me my yearly reviews?!?! Have I really given it all of
my heart? Have I really earned that paycheck? Every minute? As a commission
salesperson, did I deliver the absolute best service I possibly could? Did I
always answer honestly, and when I didn’t know something, did I pursue finding
out or finding the right person to get the best information for my clients so
they could make the best, fully-informed decision? Did I honor my words, and
deliver what I said I would? If you are like me, you would love to answer all
of these questions with a resounding, “Yes!” And as a man who has at least for
some time attempted to live like this, I would say, “Most of the time…” But,
without digging too deep and just being really honest, I am certain there were
times when I cut corners or colored the answer a bit in my favor. I am human
after all.
And there is the rub: I am only human. In the previous post
we talked about holiness and working to live a life as holy as God is holy, and
how difficult that call is. We all want to live above reproach and have the
highest integrity. We all fail sometimes. The vast majority of the times it is
small stuff… minor things that in the grand scheme really don’t matter and do
not harm anyone, and even don’t effect the overall results one bit. But, there
is this call to holiness… to perfection… and my boss, God, knows all.
If we are working for the Lord, then we owe every customer,
every client, every person we encounter the very best of what we got. We owe
them to be trained as fully as possible, to put their needs above our own, and
to accept full payment of our fees. (I snuck that one in…) Yes, we deserve our
pay when we deliver our services – never feel guilty about that (unless you are
not delivering, of course.) “ For it is written in the
Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” 1
Corinthians 9:9 (from the OT.) This is stated a few times in the bible that a
worker deserves the agreed pay. If you are feeling some guilt about that, and
you are discounting your fees, I believe you need to dig down deep and discover
why you would do such a thing. Under-promise and over-deliver, and receive the
agreed compensation. Period.
When you work as if working for God, and truly consider your
clients and customers’ needs above your own, receiving the correct and fair
compensation for doing so, you are a Sacred Salesperson. It isn’t how many
times you tell them about Jesus (we will be talking about that in the next
post) or how much you pray for them (a very good thing to do) but how well you
show them what kind of service He would deliver if He were in your shoes. “Delivering
God-like service!” or maybe, “All of my customers are Heavenly!” I think I
start using one of those slogans! Have an awesome day!
Go therefore, and make a difference!
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