One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside a
chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went
out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for
over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief
and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of
the plant. They must be saved! I will give fifty thousand dollars to
the engine company that brings them out safely!"
As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire, the president of the company offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files. In the distance, a long siren was heard and another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of salesmen. To everyone's amazement, their little fire engine raced right through the chemical plant's gates and drove straight into the center of the inferno! In the distance the other firemen watched as the salesmen hopped off their rig and began to fight the fire with a fury and an effort they had never seen before!
After an hour of intense fighting, the volunteer company of salesmen had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas. Joyous, the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteer salesmen. Afterwards the president of the chemical company asked the salesmen what they were going to do with the reward money.
The sales manager, captain of the crew and fire truck driver looked the president straight in the eye and said, "The first thing we're going to do is fix the darn brakes on our truck!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know they need that fire within to work like blazes during the week. Day in, day out, if they stay focused and keep the heat on, extra rewards and bonuses or spiffs will be theirs. True sales professionals also know that those who put the brakes on their efforts, because they are afraid of failure, will ultimately never be successful. Their sales careers will end up in just ashes and smoke.
Continue to keep blazing new trails brave road warriors! Continue to chop away at your quotas! For the successful there is no rest. Only heat! Can you feel it? Do you have that fire within?
As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire, the president of the company offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files. In the distance, a long siren was heard and another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of salesmen. To everyone's amazement, their little fire engine raced right through the chemical plant's gates and drove straight into the center of the inferno! In the distance the other firemen watched as the salesmen hopped off their rig and began to fight the fire with a fury and an effort they had never seen before!
After an hour of intense fighting, the volunteer company of salesmen had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas. Joyous, the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteer salesmen. Afterwards the president of the chemical company asked the salesmen what they were going to do with the reward money.
The sales manager, captain of the crew and fire truck driver looked the president straight in the eye and said, "The first thing we're going to do is fix the darn brakes on our truck!"
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know they need that fire within to work like blazes during the week. Day in, day out, if they stay focused and keep the heat on, extra rewards and bonuses or spiffs will be theirs. True sales professionals also know that those who put the brakes on their efforts, because they are afraid of failure, will ultimately never be successful. Their sales careers will end up in just ashes and smoke.
Continue to keep blazing new trails brave road warriors! Continue to chop away at your quotas! For the successful there is no rest. Only heat! Can you feel it? Do you have that fire within?
"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
- Arnold H. Glasow
