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Do You Think Selling Is Evil?

by Mike Williams
16 replies
I do get a vibe from people sometimes that you've committed some sort of crime to actually sell more, more often. Even the marketers who appreciate the value of selling call it "joining the dark side". Why is that?

Here's how I view it. I view selling as the greatest thing ever for everyone. It's probably the most altruistic wonderful thing you can do for the world.

Selling as I said in a previous post is an exchange of value. The more we exchange, the more we trade the better everyone off is ASSUMING IT'S A FAIR TRADE.

If you have a product. And you upsell on a coaching program. Have you done something wrong? Hell no! Most people won't be successful without personal coaching. If you didn't sell them that they fail and be miserable.

Now that you've sold it they can probably afford to buy more stuff. You have their money so you can go and help more people and create better products.

With that said. Buying is also the greatest thing in the world when the product lives up to it's price. I can't imagine where I'd be if I never bought courses tools and software that help my business in innumerable ways.

The more we trade...the better off we are. Don't be ashamed. Buy and sell. All day long. It's what makes the world go round. If we all stopped buying and selling we'd all wind up dead.

So join the light side, not the dark side.
#evil #selling
  • Profile picture of the author tomw
    Hmmm...I'm not sure about the greatest thing in the world. Maybe for some of us.

    What about the selling of products that have been made by those exploited in developing countries?

    What about the things that we don't sell to ourselves anymore or daren't sell in our own countries just yet, because we're not too sure they're safe enough for us, or we know that they are downright dangerous?

    What about the things that we test on people there just in case there are any problems before we sell them to ourselves?

    Not too great for them really this selling lark...

    Thomas
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Williams
      Originally Posted by tomw View Post

      Hmmm...I'm not sure about the greatest thing in the world. Maybe for some of us.

      What about the selling of products that have been made by those exploited in developing countries?

      What about the things that we don't sell to ourselves anymore or daren't sell in our own countries just yet, because we're not too sure they're safe enough for us, or we know that they are downright dangerous?

      What about the things that we test on people there just in case there are any problems before we sell them to ourselves?

      Not too great for them really this selling lark...

      Thomas

      It's an age old debate but here's the bottom line. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HAVING SOMEONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY DO THE SAME JOB FOR CHEAPER. That's a wonderful thing. It's good for the worker and the employer and those benefits are eventually passed on to the consumer too. Most people in those countries would kill for a job in a Nike production line because it pays better than anything else there.

      With that said, there is the issue of mistreatment of workers. That of course IS evil, but that's a separate issue. Having something produced by the one who can do the same thing for cheaper is GOOD for an economy. It makes the whole economy more efficient.

      It is the mistreatment that needs to stop, but not the concept of finding the one who can do the best job the cheapest.
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      • Profile picture of the author tomw
        Originally Posted by Mike Williams View Post

        It's an age old debate but here's the bottom line. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HAVING SOMEONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY DO THE SAME JOB FOR CHEAPER. That's a wonderful thing. It's good for the worker and the employer and those benefits are eventually passed on to the consumer too. Most people in those countries would kill for a job in a Nike production line because it pay better than anything else there.

        With that said, there is the issue of mistreatment of workers. That of course IS evil, but that's a separate issue. Having something produced by the one who can do the same thing for cheaper is GOOD for an economy. It makes the whole economy more efficient.
        Fair point Mike, but in this case assume that "exploited" and "mistreated" are interchangeable.

        On a side issue, I don't remember the prices of Nike goods going down when they moved their manufacturing base to the third world...do you?

        Don't get me wrong, I'm a capitalist through and through, but a fair minded one Some effects of what we do as capitalists are simply wrong. We need to change our behaviour and our mindsets and address many of the problems in the world. The best people to do this are capitalists with our entrepreneurial spirit but we need to devote more of this to social entrepreneurship.

        Thomas
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        Help Us Rescue, Rehabilitate And Reunite Victims With Their Families
        STOP THE TRAFFIK is a growing global movement of individuals, communities and organisations fighting to PREVENT the sale of people,
        PROTECT the trafficked and PROSECUTE the traffickers.
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        • Profile picture of the author Mike Williams
          Originally Posted by tomw View Post

          Fair point Mike, but in this case assume that "exploited" and "mistreated" are interchangeable.

          On a side issue, I don't remember the prices of Nike goods going down when they moved their manufacturing base to the third world...do you?

          Don't get me wrong, I'm a capitalist through and through, but a fair minded one Some effects of what we do as capitalists are simply wrong. We need to change our behaviour and our mindsets and address many of the problems in the world. The best people to do this are capitalists with our entrepreneurial spirit but we need to devote more of this to social entrepreneurship.

          Thomas
          If they were feeling more exploited there than at any other job in their town they wouldn't be lining up for that job. So they've made a net improvement on work conditions in most cases, not made it worse.

          Did the costs go down? You're right, they probably didn't. But the money they saved through that additional effeciency went somewhere. It either went to shareholders as dividends. It went into future marketing campaigns. Or maybe the employees of Nike got a raise.

          Is it possible the higher ups in the company took more than their fare share?

          Yup.

          And that's a problem. There do need to be some kinds of regulations on business owners to ensure they don't horde the wealth instead of reinvesting back into the corporation...that's why there's a board of disinterested directors and oversight and stuff like that.

          Capitalism left totally unchecked has a way of destroying itself. I'm aware of that.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    well everything has to be bought, in order for something to be bought someone has to sell it.

    I guess it all depends on if your customer feels they got a good bargain.

    as long as you sell something with the intention to to add value and help people it cant be wrong,

    but if you are trying to sucker people out of there money you will eventually get whats coming to you

    look at the economy and the banking industry for example they dug their own graves in my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    I agree 1,000%. Most people just don't get it -- I think because they don't get capitalism, in general. To some, it's counterintuitive to believe that an economy can EXPAND. And, further, they cannot see (wrap their mind around) how increasing the number of TRANSACTIONS that take place, EXPANDS the economy.

    Some people just cannot see that it is NOT a zero-sum game. To them, since it IS a zero-sum game (or so they incorrectly imagine), if one side of a transaction GAINS, it only stands to reason that the other side must be LOSING (something).

    In capitalism, this is simply NOT the case. There IS such a thing as a win-win situation. It's just hard to VISUALIZE. It's like imagining a see-saw -- where BOTH ends go UP!

    And yet, this is EXACTLY what happens with EVERY product or service we consume. Often it happens SEVERAL TIMES in the life of a SINGLE product! The orange grower sells his crop at a profit -- the processor that makes the juice gladly pays the grower MORE than it cost the grower to grow the crop, because the processor will make his profit when he sells the juice -- etc. etc. -- the truckers, etc, etc.

    Each time the associated transactions take place, BOTH sides of the see-saw go UP! And with each transaction, the economy EXPANDS.

    ... and, class, SALES is what 'causes' those magical, economy-healing transactions to take place!

    -- TW
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    PS: Ideally, if transactions take place where both ends of the see-saw do NOT go UP, then that particular 'transaction train' STOPS or breaks down -- thus, any 'evil' sales get automatically 'killed off' by the marketplace -- we hope, any way!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    MIke I totally agree that selling (done right) is one of the most altruistic things we can do. Selling as an occupation is often maligned because some practitioners do a lousy job.

    I've had clients hire me and openly express that they regretted having to hire an "Evil Marketer" as they put it. They simply viewed any marketing/selling efforts as inherently bad. In their fantasy, they felt customers should just want what they had so badly, that no selling would be needed.

    Of course, the reason they were now calling me is that they were without business! Overall, I think selling and marketing is not well thought of by the masses. Sometimes with good reason, but certainly not always.
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  • Profile picture of the author JOhnny Depth
    Selling has nothing to do with evil. If selling was bad then almost all ot the people around the world are all evil.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyW
    Mike -- yes, I agree -- the world is 'flat' -- as the book says.

    Another reason people think selling is evil is, they believe (again, INcorrectly) that consumers or potential customers (what I call marketEEs) will behave in exactly the SAME WAY, with or without our 'marketing efforts.'

    This is hogwash, of course. But still, it is 'conventional wisdom.' Therefore, they see marketing as useless, unnecessary + annoying. They believe the world would continue on in EXACTLY the same way if all the adverts and marketing would just DISAPPEAR.

    What they don't realize is that, unless they are a plumber, farmer, carpenter, or any other profession you'd find on an AMISH FARM, they themselves would be out of business if it weren't for 'marketing.'

    In other owrds, everyone's job is part of a giant house of cards ALL made of of interdependent, but UTTERLY + ULTIMATELY superfluous professions!!!

    The only thing that makes them 'necessary,' is SALES.

    99% of all (western culture) lives, DEPEND on sales for their very survival!

    -- TW

    PS: Analogy -- The natives of some topical island believing they would be better off if only all the tourists would just 'go away and leave them alone.'
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  • Profile picture of the author mudmat
    I agree with Mike on this.

    Just to add one more thing - Whe you sell something and people buy it, they will put action on what they bought (especially how to make money guide) because they have already spent their money. They want to see a return on their investment.

    If you don't sell, and just give it for free, people will download it and just put it a side.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    somewhere I read the etymology of the word "selling" - it has
    to do with helping a person.

    I suggest anybody here read Jay Abraham's book "Getting Everything You
    Can Out of All You've Got" for a more enlightened definition of
    seller-client relationships.

    In any case - if your friends think your livelihood of selling stuff is
    evil you have stupid friends.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jim Pearson
    Everybody is selling all of the time...The only difference is that some people make a living at selling while the rest of the world doesn't.

    It's funny though, from the hundreds of mid-size to small businesses I have worked with...most of them hate selling even though they know it is the life blood of their business.

    This is why most of them are not as succesful as they could be. They just can't get over the fact that they have to put sales first within their organization or business to really grow.
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  • Profile picture of the author Wade_Louis
    Do I think selling is evil???? Hell no.
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