In business, it makes sense to pay a lot of attention to the bottom line. Every time a potential customer sends you an e-mail or gives you a call, you have an opportunity to close a sale. However, always wearing the “salesperson hat” may not be the best way to sustain long-term profitability.

I recently had an experience with a locksmith that very much illustrates this point. I used this gentleman to re-key some of the locks in my house and everything seemed to be fine. However, a few weeks later, one of the locks failed to operate properly.

The key mechanism was fine, but the latch portion inexplicably got “stuck” in a certain position. This was not at all the fault of the locksmith. He offered to come over to fix or replace the lock, being very upfront about the charges that would be involved. When I told him that I’d rather just replace the lock myself, he didn’t try to continue pushing the sale.

Instead, he told me that when I went to the hardware store, I should be aware that locks aren’t all the same size, that I should make certain and specific measurements to know I’m getting the right size, and that locks have a specific grading system. He told me what I needed to know to buy the “right” lock, even if he wasn’t the one selling and installing it for me.

As a result, I still have his business card on my desk and I still have his name tucked away in my brain. The next time a friend, colleague, or acquaintance mentions that they need a locksmith, I know who to recommend. If this same locksmith was hard on the sale, I wouldn’t have as positive an impression of him and he would not receive any referrals from me. For his long-term success, his overall helpfulness trumps getting that single sale.