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What is SPAM?  Here's a good article answering the question.

It's not an acronym, and originally, it had nothing to do with email.  It was about posting repeated, meaningless, obnoxious, abusive, and silly content on electronic bulletin boards.  It was childish, sophomoric behavior that, in retrospect, has seriously hindered legitimate group communication ever since, and goes to show that silliness is expensive, and how a few bad apples can ruin the whole barrel.

After the fact, an acronym was developed, sort of, in the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.  It stands for [Non-] Solicited Pornography And Marketing.  Understandably, it's focused on arresting deception and abuse.

Meanwhile, the well being of our country and our society depends on robust economic development which means, first and foremost, sales.  The dilemma in sales is that vendors have an economic incentive to know more than customers know about the latest products and services.

The Inbound Marketing premise is flawed by the fact that customers can not search for what they don't know.  Consequently, the responsibility to initiate and educate rests squarely on the shoulders of vendors.  To do this, they must reach out.  Email is one way they do that.

Therefore, the next time you feel the urge to accuse a vendor of "spamming", please think again, remember Peter Thiel's reminder that regardless whether we admit it, in the final analysis we are all salespeople; and consider that the real offenders are not legitimate vendors trying to make a legitimate living supporting their families, educating the public about legitimate products and services; the real offenders are clowns and liars.  

If the vendor who  went to the trouble to offer you an informative message about a helpful product or service is not a clown or a liar, cut him or her a break and appreciate that he or she is trying to earn a legitimate living.


Salespeople are the vanguards of the economic development we all need to live.  They are heroes.  They take a lot of heat, abuse, rejection, and discouragement; they work long and hard with no guarantees.  

We should thank them because as Red Motley once said, "Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

For a more thorough discussion of the importance of sales and of salespeople, please see the Benefits Manual.

Notes - Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something

(1)  Know what you are doing:  understand how you benefit others.

• Forget about filling needs.  Americans aren't needy people.  They're prosperous people.  Salespeople aren't need-fillers; they're want-creators.
• Example:  vacuum cleaner industry.  People didn't need vacuum cleaners; they managed to keep floors so clean you could eat off of them; but it was hard work.  Vacuum cleaner inventors & manufacturers (including Hoover) went broke until the advent of the door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman.
• Another example:  auto industry.  People didn't need cars; they wanted them.
• Wanting what you don't need is the key to getting beyond survival or "barely getting by."
• Salespeople operate in the most fundamental process in the world:  creating wants.
• Examples:  education, religion . . . but filling needs isn't enough.  Students must WANT an education.  Devotees must WANT the benefits of their religions.  Because needs don't motivate adequately, wants are the only things that matter.
• Example:  the electronic refrigeration industry.  People didn't feel the need for refrigeration, & didn't show interest in it until they WANTED it.
• The electronic refrigeration industry threatened the ice industry.  But the ice industry responded by doing good market research, which resulted in a doubling of their business.  They converted a threat into an opportunity.

(2)  Believe in what you're doing.  Example:  selling zithers.  Re-sell yourself on it.

• Professionalism test:  how do you act when you're not selling?  A professional salesperson is on 24/7/365.  You're never done.
• Example:  selling the train guy on letting you sleep in a Pullman car.  "The other guy got mad."  A professional salesman keeps his cool, listens well, shows his interest in others, cares about people, & focuses on how he can benefit others.

(3)  A professional want-creator uses common sense.

• Everything is selling.  Everyone is in a selling position.
• Details matter, like wrinkled or pressed clothes, or tone of voice at the phone company.
• Even purchasing agents are salespeople, insofar as they persuade suppliers to improve designs & discounts.
• Common sense means being courteous, polite, caring, sincere, helpful.
• Example of discourtesy, lack of common sense:  smoking while selling.  Disgusting.  Distracting.  Loss of focus.  (Modern example: checking smart phone during a meeting.)
• Do the mirror test.  Check yourself out.  Be aware of your unconscious habits.  Don't take your hat & coat into an office during a sales call.  It conveys the impression you're a "bird of passage", that you don't plan on staying long, that the interview will be short & inconsequential.  Act as though you're there to stay, that the relationship matters & will endure.
• A true professional understands that there is always room for improvement.

Jeff Fox Books