Working for Free?
Posted by Matthew Aaron on June 16, 2009
British Airways set a new benchmark low for money-saving recession tactics today when it asked several thousand of its employees to take a month of unpaid leave — or just keep working for free:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/16/british.airways.work.free/index.html
Having spent a few weeks here and there across the pond myself, I’m having a hard time envisioning the British (or anyone else in the free world for that matter) choosing to show up without the promise of a paycheck. I’m a firm believer that everyone should love their job, but this really seems like a bit of a stretch.
The point of today’s post isn’t to slam BA’s poor management move, however. When I saw the headline, the first thing I actually thought of was the great number of salespeople that there are out there right now who are working for free, or something close to it. Being in charge of selling things and finding new business, salespeople are on the frontline of a recession. They’re the first to face the firing squad. And I know that in a lot of industries, especially those where the average sale runs into the tens or hundreds of thousands, there are a lot of men and women who are hurting pretty badly.
If you fall into that category, my advice to you is this: don’t work for free. There are few things as demoralizing as showing up day after day and not earning any money. I should know; I’ve definitely been there. Instead of bemoaning your lack of sales, and watching your savings account trickle down the drain, concentrate on what you can do today.
In almost every sales job on the planet there is some kind of small sale that you can make without an enormous effort. As an example, I once had a job selling furniture. In an economic climate like this one, not a lot of people are looking at investing in a new sofa. Many of them, though, could be persuaded to spend a few dollars on a cleaner or sealant that will help them get more mileage out of the couch they’ve already bought. Most of the world is focused right now on finding ways to save money and put off purchases, so why not keep your paychecks coming in by helping them find a way to do it?
Granted, this kind of strategy probably isn’t going to make you wealthy overnight. But then again, it does pay something, and it gives you the chance to keep adding to your client list while things are slow. The same people and companies that place small orders with you today might be in a much better position a few months or a year down the road, so go ahead and get your foot in the door now.
And if those reasons aren’t enough to keep you going with small sales, think about things this way: making sales is contagious. The longer you go without one, the worst you’re going to fail. Even a small sale, one that brings in just a few dollars, can make all the difference and put you in a better mood. So go see what you can find, and see if putting some money in your pocket doesn’t change the way you feel about this economy. Nobody wants to work for free, and luckily for us, no salesperson has to.:
