A salesman and his new wife quickly realized that their marriage
wasn't going to work and filed for divorce. The judge asked them what
their problem was.
The salesman replied: "In the five weeks that we've been together, we haven't been able to agree on a single thing."
The judge turned to the salesman's wife and asked: "Have you anything to say?"
She promptly responded: "It's been six weeks, your honor."
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that constant
bickering, nagging, complaining or nitpicking can have a real draining
effect on one's career. Whether it's a boss, a spouse, or a colleague
at work, these negative nanodes can take the energy right out of you.
The only cure is to unshackle yourself from such individuals
immediately. You'll get a real charge out of it!
"Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will." - Zig Ziglar
The salesman went to an attorney to ask about a divorce.
"What grounds do you have sir?" asked the attorney.
"About six acres," replied the salesman.
"No, I don't think you quite understand. Let me rephrase the question. Do you have a grudge?" asked the attorney.
"No, just a parking space."
"I'll try again. Does your wife beat you up?" asked the attorney.
"No, I always wake up before she does."
The attorney soon realized he was fighting a losing battle. "Sir, are you sure you want a divorce?"
"I'm not the one who wants a divorce," replied the salesman. "My wife does. She claims we don't communicate!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to succeed at sales, they have to be great communicators. They understand that they not only have to be able to ask great questions, they also have to be able to listen and fully respond to questions from others in order to have an engaging conversation; or avoid having a conversation about divorce.
"One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say."
- Bryant H. McGill
After 35 years of marriage, the salesman said he wanted a divorce.
His wife was stunned.
"But John," she pleaded, "how could you want to divorce me after all
we've been through together? Remember, how just after we met, you
caught malaria and nearly died, but I looked after you and brought you
back to good health? Then when your family was wiped out by a
hurricane, I was there for you. When you were falsely accused of
embezzlement at work, I stood by you. Then when you gambled away over
$40,000 of our savings at online poker, I sympathized and supported
you. When that fire destroyed your office at work I comforted you.
John! How could you leave me? We've been through so much!"
"That's the problem, Sue," replied the salesman. "Face it. You're just bad luck!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to
succeed at sales they need to be persistent and skilled rather than
lucky. In tough times you need to work rather than discard your
network. During tough times, only a fool spurns those who have
historically provided support. During tough times, lashing out at or
blaming others won't make things better. In fact, if you cut off your
support network, your downward spiral will only accelerate and the
impact you make when you hit bottom will be that much more painful.
"I believe the world is increasingly in danger of becoming split into
groups which cannot communicate with each other, which no longer think
of each other as members of the same species."
- Carrie Snow
