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the art of the sale.
we all know the archetypal salesman figure well and possibly have a strong opinion on the validity of his chosen path to riches.
it is a game riddled with chance and probability, and where the only certainty is that desperation (or lust of result?) will ruin a sale.
it is a world i have entered before and one i have returned to, carving out a shallow and untenable existence until the cosmos notices.
during the average day, i will speak to i excess of a hundred people, and will spend an average of three hours doing absolutely fuck all. the fuck all is unfortunately spread unpredictably between 'customers', and as such is dead time. i have taken to drawing and writing in the only item i am supposed to have on my desk, a spiral notepad. this is in an attempt to leave a working day with something to show for it other than a paltry commission and a huge list of people who are irritated by my watered down version of the hard sell.
i have also been experimenting with different centering exercises between pitches, and various approaches to the sale conversation itself. my forays have been limited at best so far, and have mainly been inspired by boredom, caffeine and last night's smoke.
interestingly, i discovered the other day that the promotional structure is easily abused. a friend of mine was promoted after two weeks, and has since been promoted a couple more times, all in the last three months.
all of this comes together in my head to present an interesting opportunity for magickal experimentation. i find sales as a career to be untenable, and in previous, similar situations have only done what needed done to keep myself employed.
i find the very nature of the business fairly offensive, with its natural reliance on the slow-witted and the high incidence of aggressive and pushy participants. i find myself in the position of pitching a product to people that is in itself not that bad, but in a way that is in itself not all that good.
currently my main technique is a sort of enthusiastic indifference. in being excited and fully versed in the benefits of your product, you can show it off. you also put many people on guard, however, as the image of the excited salesman is a common and untrusted one. in being (or appearing*) indifferent about whether your 'customer' wishes to sign up, you allow those DefiniteNo's to go on their merry way while encouraging curiosity in the DefensiveYetUncertain's.
the most 'wiggle room' is found in the approach, i feel.
does the prospect of power and riches make playing the sales game to win indefensible? are there more ways to make playing it more ethical? there is always a growing temptation with these jobs to reduce in your mind the stature of the 'customer'. is this desensitization especially unhealthy? can it be done more effectively?
while my personal opinion is that this industry is generally negative, i do find myself drawn to the idea of playing the game within it for its own sake.
are there any time-honored traditions of Selling Magick? is the lifestyle of pure capitalism compatible with ethical thaumaturgy?
but most importantly,
should i design a sigil and wank in the office toilets?
*
(at least minor) deception is considered a staple tool of the salesman by salesmen and their rubes both...but is it necessary? |
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