Be nice to everyone, you might just save a life

For those playing along at home, I have been working in sales for a private health company since December.

It's fun, fast-paced and genuinely enjoyable.

But I do have sales targets, and this month I was performing below my targets by a long way.

A long way.

A long long loooooong way.

Ok, it wasn't that bad, but pressure was mounting and I was in a race against the clock.

You see after 4 great months to start my sales career I had well and truly over achieved. There was some luck involved but it was clear that I had some talent and a dedication to doing the work required to be better.

I moved up 4 pay bandings very quickly.

More money = more pressure.

So when May rolled around several things happened to add context today's tale.

1. My target/responsibility had increased
2. I put a lot of extra pressure on myself to achieve and continue my good form
3. The lead quality and quantity had died down
4. Market conditions and general political and global events were adding uncertainty to the public and the 'buyers mindset'

Which brings us to the second last week of the month and the focus of this newsletter.

There was eight days left in the month and I was sitting at about 85% to my target. This was unfamiliar territory to me— I tried to remain focus on the process.

Every call counted.

Every minute, precious.

I dialled one of the outbound leads after an inquiry was made on our website.

A young guy picks up the phone.

"Hey Matt, it's Matt here from XYZ Health, I noticed you were looking for a better deal on your private health insurance".

He replied...

"Yeah mate I was but because I'm a veteran, I get a discount with Defence Health so I've already signed up with them".

Now typically at this point I would attempt to handle this objection.

'Let's see if we can get you a better deal' or 'our fund has a lot of benefits like xyz that you might like'.

Etc etc...

But I didn't fight it.

Maybe it was because I was aware of my precious time and didn't think the juice was worth the squeeze or maybe because I knew there was something slightly off in his voice.

I thanked him for his time and wished him luck.

As I hung up the phone I heard him make some sounds in the last second before the call was disconnected.

It sounded like sobbing.

His voice sounded low, his energy was off and with the sound of what I thought was sobbing, I conjured an image that terrified me.

A sad and lonely veteran who was mentally unwell.

I know that seems a little extreme, but after a very good friend attempted to take their life recently and with my knowledge of veteran suicide and mental health decline, I couldn't risk it.

I turned to my colleague and voiced my concerns.

She reminded me that I wasn't Lifeline and asked "what would you even do?".

"I don't know" I said, "maybe see if he wants to talk".

She told me to call him back if it was going to weigh on me.

I hesitated for a second, weighing up how potentially strange and annoying it could be to be hassled by a sales agent when you're just trying to go about your day.

After a moment of pause I decided it was worth the risk.

I made the call. It rung a few times and somewhat expectedly it went through to voicemail.

I wasn't sure what to say, but I had to say something, so I did.

"Hey Matt, sorry to hassle you mate but it sounded like you were crying as I hung up the phone... I know this is a bit odd but if you are having a rough day I am happy to chat to you, no stress, just an open ear and an opportunity to talk. If I am wrong, then I do apologise for the convenience and wish you all the best".

After the message was left I sat down at my desk and got back to dialling.

Nearly 24 hours went by and then a message appeared on slack.

I was tagged in a comment to my sales team with congratulations and a screenshot of som customer feedback.

Applause were streaming in.

I was half way through closing a sale and briefly peaked at the chat, my heart sank (in a good way).

I composed myself to close the sale but then opened the screenshot.

Tears started forming as I took the message in.

I wasn't privy to this information.

All I had was intuition, courage and a duty to do the right thing no matter how strange or insignificant it could've been.

It was a timely reminded to me that the work is always the work and that every single conversation is an opportunity to put the work into practice.

You never know who you're talking to.

You never know what someone is going through.

Be kind to everyone, all the time—especially yourself.

Your duty is not to get applause or congratulations. Your duty is to do the work and live with courage no matter what happens and no matter who is watching.

Be nice to everyone, act with kindness and selflessness.

You never know, you might just save a life.

With gratitude,

Sav.

If you like my content and want more, there's 2 ways to go deeper:

1. ​Lil Gratitude Journal: My gratitude journal has been carefully designed for the busy modern-day creative/entrepreneur. It's efficient, effective and affordable (and makes for a great gift).
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