--- title: The First Law of Sales | The Sales Blog description: Today my friend Chris wrote this piece on his blog. Some guys like the ones in this video ripped off my uncle. He didn’t have any real money, yet he was robbed and preyed upon by this new breed of confidence men. What criminals like these are doing has nothing to do with real sales […] image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_30774130-copy.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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Some guys like the ones in [this video](http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/10/2984893/scamworld-get-rich-quick-schemes-mutate-into-an-online-monster) ripped off my uncle. He didn’t have any real money, yet he was robbed and preyed upon by this new breed of confidence men. What criminals like these are doing has nothing to do with real sales or marketing, regardless of how much money they make. It’s the same old [snake oil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil) and charlatanism that’s been around for Centuries. But this time, it’s digital snake oil peddled by [digital charlatans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlatan). A few days ago, The New York Times posted [this opinion piece on Capitalism](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/opinion/sunday/fables-of-wealth.html). The piece came out a few days after Chase suffered a black eye for some complex financial trading gone wrong and to the tune of Billions of dollars. But trading derivatives of derivatives of sketchy financial deals isn’t real market Capitalism. Especially when people who had nothing to do with the transactions pay for the mistakes of those who do nothing more than speculate. There is no real value being created or traded here. The first rule of sales is that you create value for someone else. The only reason it is okay for you as a salesperson to capture part of the value that you create is that you created value in the first place. This is why market Capitalism works. It’s why selling works. You do the value creating first. If you have no real intention of creating value for someone else, if what you are doing is [only to make you money](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2011/04/29/a-letter-to-a-young-hustler/), then you aren’t selling. You are stealing. Selling is [meaningful work](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2011/11/16/a-short-story-on-sales-as-meaningful-work/) (as is marketing). It’s meaningful work because it allows you to make a difference in the lives and businesses of other people. It’s meaningful because you can create a better outcome for others. It’s meaningful because it gives you the opportunity to create value. And there is nothing wrong with capturing part of the value that you helped to create. There is everything wrong with trying to capture value without creating value for other people, especially if you lead them to believe that you are going to create value for them. It’s stealing. It’s wrong. And you will never be proud of having done so. The first law of sales is to create value for other people. If you get this part right, the rest of it is much easier. And much more meaningful. #### Questions Why must you first create value if you are to deserve to capture value? What makes selling meaningful work? Do you know people that try to sell only so they can make money, with now intention of really helping someone else produce an outcome? ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2012](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2012) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on May 25, 2012 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at [iannarino@gmail.com](mailto:iannarino@gmail.com) [Follow me on my website](https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/) [Follow me on Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/iannarino) [![AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg?width=400&height=400&name=AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/authority) [![ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg?width=318&height=179&name=ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/free-cold-calling-video) ![salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover (1)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg?width=768&height=994&name=salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg) ### Free Sales eBook: Sales Call Planner Planning your sales call improves the likelihood of making a successful call, and it demonstrates to your dream client your professionalism. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2022-06-16T3:28:23 PM", "datePublished" : "2012-05-25 23:00:39", "description" : "Today my friend Chris wrote this piece on his blog. Some guys like the ones in this video ripped off my uncle. He didn’t have any real money, yet he was robbed and preyed upon by this new breed of confidence men. 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