Would You Buy From an Atheist?

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  FrancesScott04/29/08 Report as spam
  1

  Would you Buy From An Atheist?

  I believe in God. I don't believe you. Your assertions have no backup and your blaming of religion (God) for homicides, etc. is silly. There are bad people who happen to be Christians, Jews, Muslims, keep naming religions. There are bad atheists, Castro, Marx, Lenin, and their ilk who kill(ed) people by the millions ... starting with the believers. I don't quiz the person I'm buying from as to their belief system. If I have the chance to choose between buying from someone I know believes in God or an Atheist, I'd pick the person who had the best product for the best value. The insertion of faith into this format and the position you have taken disappoints me.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine04/29/08 Report as spam
  2

  Read more carefully.

  Reread the paragraph where I state that correlation is not causality.
  
  The post explains that there's no evidence that religion makes people any better than they would otherwise have been, and if there is any causal relationship, it would have to be a negative one in order to create the correlation.
  
  Just out of curiosity, would your "best value" proposition apply if you were buying from a Satanist? I'm pretty sure that there are more than a few CEOs who've got a contract with the devil sitting in their private vault with all those stock options.

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  jwatson@...04/29/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: Would You Buy From an Atheist?

  Socrates said,"Endeavor to be what you desire to appear."
  In other words, if you feel that being perceived by your prospect as a trustworthy individual will increase your chances of winning the business, then simply be trustworthy. Don't bring religion into it at all.

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  pcogs04/29/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: Would You Buy From an Atheist?

  I don't trust people that are religious, I'll buy from an atheist any day.

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  Sid Herron04/29/08 Report as spam
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  I did not answer the poll...

  ...because you didn't offer the third option that you should have offered: "No preference." That, in my opinion, skews your poll by including responses only from those who are biased one way or the other, and therefore makes it worthless (unless perhaps as an indicator of how many of your readers ARE biased one way or the other).
  
  I do not make my buying decisions based on the religious faith, or lack thereof, of the people I'm dealing with.
  
  Regarding your statements that "there's a good chance that your average atheist is more moral and ethical than your average believer," and that it is "unlikely for moral behavior to be a causal result of religious belief," I strongly disagree - but I'm don't think that debate is an appropriate one for a forum that's devoted to selling excellence.

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  dextrus05/15/08 Report as spam
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  Bingo!

  I was expecting the poll to be 0 responses. THAT would have been the balanced and fair way to handle the question. I was surprised to see that people had actually answered (with a bias, as you well pointed!). But then again, it seems like they felt compelled to answer. I didn?t answer either. [how to answer to the question "Did you beat your spouse last night?"] YOU know the answer!

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  kajira204/29/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Would You Buy From an Atheist?

  Echoing the above comment, I prefer not to know. I believe in anonymity when it comes to personal beliefs -- if I like who you are, I may ask you about your spiritual condition, but the choice is mine. The concept is simple but priceless: Attraction not promotion. The more that a salesperson brings their personal beliefs into the discussion, the less inclined I am to do business with them, be they an evangelist, an atheist or what have you.
  
  Earlier this year I was having dinner with a European client, and the conversation turned toward America -- specifically, to the question "Why do so many Americans bring religion into business meetings?"
  
  Whatever your beliefs, try to remember that a potential customer may not share the same perspective. The focus should be on serving, not converting, the customer.

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  dave.stein@...04/30/08 Report as spam
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  What Religion Are You?

  For those of you who don't know what faith you are, try Belief-O-Matic here: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine04/30/08 Report as spam
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  Gosh...

  I was a Zoroastrian Magus and never knew it!

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  cherbond04/30/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Would You Buy From an Atheist?

  North America's churches are full of believers on Sundays who think nothing of cheating, misleading, or deceiving their customers Monday to Friday. (Used car salesmen go to church too). I think they feel that their belief somehow lets them off the hook for unethical or immoral deeds in the workplace if they attend Sunday services. If I'm dealing with a salesman who makes sure to tell me that he attends church on Sunday, I run the other way.

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  Aimee33305/01/08 Report as spam
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  Sales Prayer

  I don't know about any of you, but I spend a great amount of time praying for a deal to come through. And I'm sure even the Atheist has been dropped to their knees a time or two when a million dollar deal is on the line!!! As far as buying from an atheist, Unless they're wearing a sign around their neck -how in the heck would I know? In today's society it's more "cheaters and cheaters alike". I find the research Ironic. Atheist believe in a moral code. Why? Where did that code come from? Why should they have one. Isn't that a little contradictory?

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine05/01/08 Report as spam
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  Morals without Superstition

  Actually, there's a fairly simple moral code that doesn't require supernatural revelation. I've seen it stated different ways, but it comes down to:
  
  Whatever adds to the happiness in the world is moral; whatever adds to the suffering in the world is immoral.
  
  That moral standard has the advantage of providing a touchstone for human behavior, even when that behavior is done for religious reasons.
  
  In other words, beheading people or marrying underage girls (or whatever) is immoral, even if you're 100% convinced that God approves.

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  fastd@...05/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Would You Buy From an Atheist?

  I would buy from an atheist before I would buy from a company proclaiming to be a member of a religon. Why? I am buying a product or service from a company where I expect the people to behave professionally. I want to buy from someone who is accountable, not third party endorsed by an authority. Finally, if there is a problem I want a solution, not forgiveness. Religon does not guarantee that their values will reflect my needs. Religon is a personal preference and has no place in business.