I know it’s a bit taboo to say, “I’m in it for the money.” It’s gauche, crass; unacceptable in polite society. We are supposed to work for more noble ideals like loving our field and providing for our family.

I’m a salesguy. I’m a salesguy because I love this time-worn sales phase; “Your raise is effective as soon as you are.”

This pay-for-performance model is not exclusive to salespeople. CEOs get bonused for increasing the share price. Oh, and by the way, how does the share price increase? It increases when their company sells a bunch of products and services.

The thought of breaking rocks all day for a fixed wage does not appeal to us as it does for some. Most people out there like to know that if they show up for forty hours a week and do the job before them, they will get a steady paycheck.

My dad was like that. Security was a primary value for him. When I first went into sales, he was mortified. The thought of working for an uncertain wage did not mesh well with a man who valued security above all else.

 He did not understand (and really, neither did I at the time) that the uncertainty didn’t exist for me. I was sure that in sales, I would out-earn what I would have been worth in a salaried position. I wanted to follow the money. Along the way, I learned to love the process. I learned to relish the look under the hood I got with so many businesses. I loved the freedom and self-reliance of my job. I was enriched by the variety of great people I met through selling. My charity work flourished because of those people and the skills my job taught me. My family traveled to places they may never have gone to because of my sales career.

 But the core, the gnawing in my gut that drove me, was that I wanted to make a lot of money. If not, I’d have been a fireman, a cop, or a sanitation worker. Lots of my friends were, and they are all well-retired now; not a bad way to go but not my way. Nor is it yours. We want to make a bunch of money. So let’s continue to remember that “Our raise is effective as soon as we are.” And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Own Your Sales Gene…