Before driving across five states to get to his wife's parents to
celebrate New Years, the salesman pulled in to a gas station to put
some air in his tires. He had noticed earlier that morning that they
looked a little flat.
"How much is that?" the salesman asked the cashier.
"Ten dollars."
"Ten dollars! That's way too expensive! It's only air!" exclaimed the salesman.
The cashier calmly replied: "Well sir, that's inflation for you."
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to be successful in sales they need to understand economic trends like inflation. Being able to understand in advance how trends like inflation will affect the industries you sell to, will help you to prioritize your time more effectively. Are your customers positively or adversely affected by the current economic trends? Are you selling any product or service which would improve their competitive positioning, their internal operations, or their customer relations during tough times? Will your customers' cash flow be positively or negatively affected? An increase in cash flow can mean an increased tendency to spend money. A decreased cash flow will tighten the purse strings and delay or cancel some planned expenditures. Sales professionals stay vigilant to ensure that none of their projects lose their funding. No sales professional wants to see their commission checks go through a period of rapid deflation.
"Production is the only answer to inflation." - Chester Bowles
"How much is that?" the salesman asked the cashier.
"Ten dollars."
"Ten dollars! That's way too expensive! It's only air!" exclaimed the salesman.
The cashier calmly replied: "Well sir, that's inflation for you."
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to be successful in sales they need to understand economic trends like inflation. Being able to understand in advance how trends like inflation will affect the industries you sell to, will help you to prioritize your time more effectively. Are your customers positively or adversely affected by the current economic trends? Are you selling any product or service which would improve their competitive positioning, their internal operations, or their customer relations during tough times? Will your customers' cash flow be positively or negatively affected? An increase in cash flow can mean an increased tendency to spend money. A decreased cash flow will tighten the purse strings and delay or cancel some planned expenditures. Sales professionals stay vigilant to ensure that none of their projects lose their funding. No sales professional wants to see their commission checks go through a period of rapid deflation.
"Production is the only answer to inflation." - Chester Bowles
