Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Sales Joke of the Day (October 22) The Red Cross.

It was the worst winter in living memory.  The successful salesman was beginning to regret building his huge estate in the mountains of Colorado.   His home along with thousands of others were now cut off by deep snow drifts.  After three months with no contact with the outside world, his home and along with his neighbors, became the target of a Red Cross rescue mission.  But for weeks even the Red Cross rescue team could manage to force their way though to the salesman's home which by then had been completely submerged in snow.  


Finally after days of intense digging, the brave rescuers succeeded in hacking out a path to the front door of the salesman's home.  Not knowing what they would find there, they decided to knock on the front door first.  The salesman answered the door.


"Red Cross," said the leader of the rescue team.


"Sorry," said the salesman.  "It's been such a tough winter that I don't think we can give anything this year.   Besides I make it a practice never to donate to any organization that solicits door-to-door."


Moral of the story.   True sales professionals know that in order to succeed in sales you need to be active in your community.   You can't squirrel yourself away in a castle somewhere, never talk to anyone, and expect to close big deals.   Last, never forget the old saying, "Charity begins at home."


"The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and willing service." 
                                                                                                                                                                       -  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow