All lessons begin with the basics.

It is important to be able to recognize the changes in our world that require our adaptation. At the same time there can be no circumstance in which we are unable to learn something new. Having spent the last many years of my life trying to teach others, I now find myself in a position where I'd like to increase the impact of the many lessons I've been blessed enough to learn.

As such this will mark the first of a series of discussions on the state of sales and service trends in our country and our world. My hope is that people begin to "re-learn" what we've lost in the art of sales and Customer service. As with all lessons this concept should begin simply.

Lesson One - Sales and Customer Service Are Not Unique Concepts

The most basic explanation that my 8 plus years in sales and Customer service can offer is that in order to provide a fantastic sales event, you must understand how positive Customer service is linked to the sale. When you sell a product, whether tangible or intangible, you are in fact providing a needed service. When you provide high caliber Customer service, you are in fact selling something, even if it is as simple as selling the Customer on yourself. This is in essence the basic premise of my experience, that there is no distinction between sales and Customer service and that they are, in fact, the same thing.

Prior to ending the first of what I hope to be many opportunities for learning it is important that I point out something that you may or may have not already noticed. I make a concerted effort to capitalize the word "Customer". Rules of grammar aside, and no disrespect intended for those who follow grammar to the letter, a Customer is more than a description to me. It is, in my humble opinion, the title of the person that everyone in sales and service should hold dearest. It is in our ability to attract as well as retain the Customer that we make our own individual businesses successful. As a result I hold the word "Customer" in the highest regard.

That is the most basic and important lesson I have learned thus far.