Selling With Noble Purpose, 2nd Edition

Introduction

What Is Selling with Noble Purpose?

Hearts are the strongest when they beat in response to noble ideals.

—Ralph Bunche, winner of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize

“The words selling and noble are rarely seen together. Most people believe that money is the primary motivator for top salespeople and that doing good by the world runs a distant second. That belief is wrong.”

When I first wrote those words in 2012, I had no way of knowing the first edition of Selling with Noble Purpose would upend traditional beliefs about sales and spur a global movement. At the time, the notion that you could galvanize a sales force around something more meaningful than money was a new, and not always welcome, idea. Thankfully, times have changed. At least in part.

We started writing this new edition of Selling with Noble Purpose before the COVID crisis began. By the time we were finishing this book, the weight of the crisis was upon us. Markets had become volatile, businesses were closing, and people all over the world were afraid. They were afraid for their health, afraid for their livelihood, and afraid of what the future might hold.

We are experiencing a reset like never before. Business norms are being challenged, and teams are being called upon to innovate, reinventing what they sell and how they sell on daily basis. A growing chorus of customers are asking: Is your sales team here to help me? Or are they just trying to close me?

Here's what we know to be true: amid disruption, one ...