NEEDS SATISFIER by Kevin Bahler

I started my first job in sales at 23. Although I was fine talking with customers and finding the right item for them, I was uncomfortable bringing up warranties and services. I had grown up being told that they were tricks and scams to separate fools from their money.

I talked with my manager, Mike, about my hesitations. He asked me, “Do you mow your own lawn?” I told him I did, so he asked me why.

“Because it’s not difficult and I own a lawnmower,” I said.

That’s when Mike smiled his big grin and informed me that “plenty of people mow lawns for a living, so obviously there are plenty of people who find value in having somebody else mow their lawns.”

As it turns out, Mike had the same troubles with selling, too. He had been in sales for 10 years, but had only recently gotten comfortable doing so. It all came with a realization of what he was really doing.

“I’m not a salesman; I am a needs satisfier.”

That is the sentence that changed my life. Or rather, it made me understand my life. At work, I realized that different services have different values for different people. Accidental damage coverage is very valuable on your laptop if you have rambunctious children, but not if you leave it on your desk in a computer room where it never leaves and no food or drinks are allowed inside.

But it goes so far beyond work. Satisfying needs is my life’s work. When I write a story, I am satisfying the need for entertainment (and hopefully stimulating thought). When I hang out with my friends, I am satisfying the need for companionship. When I talk with people and help them through their problems, I am satisfying the need to return to normal.

Anything you do can satisfy somebody’s needs. When you start seeing your life in this light, you will see that the world is a pretty cool place. Everything you do makes somebody feel better. Sometimes that person is you, and sometimes it’s anybody else. But no matter what, things get better with every need you satisfy.

Give it a shot. You may find that satisfying needs is the most satisfying experience.