The Sin of the desert
There is a law in business known as the “Sin of the Desert” which states that if you are in the desert and know where the water is but don’t tell others, you are sinning. You are sinning by keeping that information to yourself.
To do well with personal sales, team sales or a sales organization, sin of the desert behavior will never work. While it may work for some short satisfaction, it will not work for the long term success of any one person, team or organization.
Sharing information, collaborating, and brainstorming with others will bring success to all involved. Participating in another person’s success is not only rewarding to your heart, but it will benefit you in many other ways. There are so many benefits of sharing information:
Education - when you share about yourself with someone and they share about themselves with you, both will learn about another's businesses, goals and what the other needs to achieve their goals.
Circle of influence - Meeting influential people or client candidates is important in being successful in business. When someone shares about their business, you learn who their ideal client is. You can then help one another with introductions and help influence one another’s success.
All ships rise - when one team member does well, others recognize it and want to do well too. Sharing information is a great team building exercise.
I worked with a sales team once and we wanted to find a salesperson in a new market. When we went to the market there was a lot of pushback from the group. No one wanted to be labeled the salesperson. Then one day I got a phone call and the person shared that secretly she had tried some of the techniques I had shared with the group - things like being naturally curious about a business's success and their business model. She tried it with a business owner. She learned so many ways that she could add value to the business and it excited her to help the business owner. She promptly went to work helping the business owner achieve their goals in ways that she had influence. Within a short period of time, the business owner had a need and called her to fulfill that need. She didn’t “sell” anything, she just added value and helped someone else achieve their goal and they remembered her for doing that. She felt good, the business owner felt good, and it gave her a completely new perspective on sales.
Keeping successful habits and ideas to yourself isn’t any fun either. It would be like living on an island all by yourself and having all the coconuts you need to survive but no one to share them with. Don’t keep it all to yourself! The sin of the desert is lonely, it is not kind, and it does not work. I suggest you share your knowledge with others and ask them to share with you.