We were speechless. All we could say was, “We can’t ask you to do this!”
She replied, “You didn’t ask me. I offered it and that’s that.” She lent us
the $7,000 and gave us five years to pay back the sum—so “we wouldn’t
have too much pressure.” Beulah passed away just days after we paid her
the last payment on that note.
When I think of the greatest salesperson I ever met, I think of Beulah.
Here was a woman, a commissioned salesperson, who was utterly selfless in
the process and whose generosity was a gift from heaven. Obviously, this
woman didn’t go around every day waiving her commissions and making
personal loans to virtual strangers, but the fact that she did this time indi-
cated that her job was about more than selling houses. It was about help-
ing people get to the place they belonged and being able to turn a house
into a home.
IT’S ABOUT LIFE
Mark had reviewed Sam’s insurance coverages and was concerned that
Sam, in his early 60s, had neglected to give serious attention to his level of
life insurance. At the current level of coverage, his untimely death would
cause certain hardship for his family-owned business. Mark emphatically
stated this in Sam’s review and watched as Sam dismissively waved him off,
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
That night, Mark tossed and turned thinking about Sam. Not that he
had a premonition, but he felt Sam needed to understand the serious threat
to his estate. He went back to see Sam the next day and rearticulated his
concerns.
Sam said, “I’ll think about it,” which Mark knew from experience meant
no.
Three days later, Mark stopped in again. Sam greeted him with, “Now
whaddya want?”
Mark said, “I’m not leaving here until you sign this application and get
this situation where it needs to be for your wife and family.”
Sam finally acceded, saying, “I will, if you promise to get off my back.”
A few weeks later, while driving down a country road, Mark happened
upon a one-car accident that had just taken place. The Lincoln Continental
was turned over. Mark thought the Lincoln Continental looked vaguely
familiar, so he jumped out of his car to see if he could be of any help.
When he looked in the overturned vehicle, he saw Sam, dead of a heart
attack.
The very fact that you get paid for providing the service or products you
provide will always leave open the door of cynicism in the client’s mind. Sam
It’s Not about You 197