Who Did Jesus Recruit for His Sales Team? (Part 3)
February 8th, 2007 | Michael Pink
“And learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:29
We are finishing off our discussion on the three traits Jesus is looking for when choosing folks to spread His yoke of Scriptural teachings. He wanted people who were willing to work, willing to bear a burden but know their limits and lastly, people who were willing to learn.
Having a teachable spirit is critical. If you are recruiting someone and they don’t have this trait, move on to the next one. If they are not teachable, they will be big trouble for you - even if they already know more about the market than you.
It’s about humility. Jesus says he is meek and lowly in heart. By this, He is setting the example and He expects us to follow His example and learn from Him. When someone is not teachable, they are in pride and pride comes before a fall. In fact, Proverbs teaches that before honor is humility. And humility, when combined with the fear of the Lord, brings riches and honor and life.
Look for these traits when recruiting a sales team or any team for that matter and your success rate will definitely increase. You can hire folks without the training you wish they had, but if they are willing to work hard, recognize their limits and learn new things, it may be the best hiring decision you have made. I have a client whose company sells insurance. Their top sales rep for 2006 was a maid, cleaning rooms in a hotel before she took the job. A top copier sales rep I knew delivered bread before he took his first sales job. I could list many other examples of sales folks with extraordinary success who did not have the official pedigree their employers were initially looking for, but they had these three traits and were a smashing success!
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February 11th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Good word. If all you are aiming for is quick success, bringing on the best experienced people might make sense. But they often have their own vision or motivations and will leave when they have gotten all the can or when something better comes along.
It is much harder transfering vision to those who are “experienced”, then to those who are passionate and eager.
Jesus had a harder time with the Pharisees then he did with those who were open to their need for change and help.
One of Jesus biggest hurdles was that he was seen as “common” by the religious establishment. He wasn’t one of them. He didn’t belong to the right family or go to the right schools.
We all need to be sensitive to what God is calling us to do and not to what seems right or wrong to our natural senses.