How many times have we been approached by a sales person and left with a feeling of being subtly rubbed the wrong way? How many times have we been left with a feeling of our highest interest being served? We’ve all experienced both, perhaps more the former than the later.

Many top sales trainers refer to the profession as a form of persuasion, and offer a plethora of tactics to control conversations and steer people in a particular direction. And yet the data shows us that people don’t want to be “sold,” and the greatest sales teachers tell us about inspiration, enthusiasm, belief in product and integrity.

Perhaps what is missing from our traditional sales model is a motivation for balance. Organizations built on a sales model are destined to a continuous process of finding more sales. Other organizations that have been built on word of mouth, reputation and quality product tend to undersell their products, feeling almost apologetic for having to give a pitch.

Perhaps the profession of sales is much simpler than it’s become in practice? Perhaps it’s no more than the intersection between need and compassion. The need for the products and services that sustain and further our lives and businesses, and the compassion of those offering those products and services for helping us make decisions that serves our highest good.

Compassion distinguished from integrity, because compassion speaks to a person’s driving intention and reason for being, whereas integrity by itself speaks only to the parameters within which a person operates for his/her self-interest.

Perhaps compassion is not just for the Dalai Lama and those few truly enlightened souls, but can be employed on mass scale, in the context of business and commerce, for the sake of balance and prosperity. Stated more simply, truly care about your customers and endeavor to do the very best you can for them and you will succeed, versus driving for business objectives while staying just within the limits of ethical acceptability.