The Bottom Line is Not the Bottom Line

I recently bought a copy of the latest issue of "Fortune 500." I like this list because it ranks the largest companies in the U.S. based on what I think is most important. No, it's not profits. Actually, a handful of companies on the list posted losses. The Fortune 500 ranks companies based on revenue. How much money did the company bring in? How much did it sell? We hear a lot of talk about profits, about the bottom line. Yet, revenue is what drives growth. It's not about how much money a company keeps; it's about how much it makes.

Don't get me wrong. Profits are important. If a company does not at least break even, it does not have a sustainable business plan. Yet, in this case, it isn't an issue of how much profit the company does make but rather how much it can make. When a company can't make the profits it needs to stay in business, then it has a problem. But what about the company that makes an excess of profit? What about the company with the biggest "bottom line?" Is this a succeful company. I would say, "No." Or at least it's not successful as it could be.

The bottom line is not the bottom line. I heard a quote once, and I can't remember who said it, but it goes like this: "I am not in business to make money; I make money to be in business." You see, the company that does not plan on sticking around only needs to be concerned with profits. But the company that wants to be an enduring enterprise that really creates an impact on the world will not want to post high profits. That company will want to reinvest the money that could have been profit into more revenue creation. Better technology. Better product development. Better salespeople. Great companies feed the machine rather than extracting all they can out of it and letting it starve. Companies that are in it for the long-haul don't care about profits. They are merely a means to an ever-evolving end.

What about you as a salesperson? There is a notion that salespeople are only interested in making money. Sales is all about commissions. The most successful salesperson is the one who is the richest--the one who profits the most. Is this true? I don't think so. I think that richest salesperson is simply that--the richest salesperson. The most successful salesperson is the one who reinvests in himself. He is always seeking to improve--to develop himself so as to create more revenue. He pays for sales training out of his own pocket. He wants to improve. He is not in business to make money. He makes money to be in business. What about you? What kind of salesperson are you? Is it a career or just a means to some quick money? What kind of impact will you leave on the world through the revenue that you generate? Or are you only concerned with profits?