Be, don’t just do

“It’s got to go” my wife announced.

Thankfully she wasn’t referring to me but the old sit on lawnmower my dad gave me second hand a few years’ ago. It hadn’t worked in two years, I’d replaced it and the poor old thing was gathering dust in the shed.

It seemed a shame to dump it, it could be worth some money for spares, but to sell it and profit from a gift my dad gave me seemed harsh, so I came up with an idea.

I put it on eBay but donated the entire proceeds to a charity, using their charity service, and the charity I chose was McMillan Nurses who looked after my dear old mum before she died of cancer back in the 90’s.

I leveled with my dad and he was thrilled. I guess I had the right intentions with this and we can use the same concept when selling or coaching. Let me explain.

My intention with the mower was integrity to my father’s property and not to profit so I put the mower on eBay for charity.

If we have the right intentions or the right “being” then we will do the right thing by our customer without even trying. If you’re on being, then you’ll naturally be on doing.

If you’re:

  • Flexible
  • Genuine
  • Friendly
  • Available
  • Approachable
  • Motivated
  • Reliable

Then you’ll do:

  • Acting on promises
  • Listen acutely
  • Understand the real needs of your client
  • Ask provocative questions
  • Build instant rapport with clients
  • Empathise naturally

The secret is to focus your energies on who you are, what you’re being and the rest will come naturally with little effort.

We made £113 for the old mower and the chap who bought it, said he wouldn’t have offered so much if MacMillan Nurses wasn’t the charity. He told me his mother had died of cancer in the 90’s too.

Spooky life isn’t it?