Sales Joke of the Day (May 22) The Flier.

A salesman decided to open up a new territory in South America, and as his chartered plane was flying over a remote part of the Amazon rain forest, the engine suddenly stalled.   The pilot ordered the salesman to jump, and thanks to his parachute the pilot drifted slowly towards earth.  The salesman had the only  bird's eye view of as the plane smashed with brute force into the woods and instantly turned into a raging fireball. 


Fortune took an ironic turn for the salesman.  His gentle descent landed him perfectly in the center of a large cooking pot which was gently simmering over a low fire.


All the local tribesmen turned to look at him until the chief, blinking in total disbelief asked, "What's this flier doing in my soup?"


Moral of the story.   True sales professionals know that it's always better if you call ahead for an appointment before showing up at a prospect's workplace.  Prospects are people too!   Remember that they have their own schedules, their own priorities and their own daily objectives.   They are not going drop everything they are working on, just because you decided to drop in on them unannounced.  If you are in telesales, remember never to call on prospects over meal times.  If you do, you'll be regarded as a mere interruption and you will never close any business.

"There are no signposts in the sky to show a man has passed that way before.  There are no channels marked.  The flier breaks each second into new uncharted seas."    

-  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sales Joke of the Day (February 10) The Soup.

A salesman traveling in south-east Asia was horrified to be served bird's nest soup.


"Do you mean to say that this is actually a bird's nest?" he protested.


The chef assured the salesman that it was, explaining that the bird built the nest with its own saliva as glue.


"Are you saying I'm supposed to eat saliva from a bird?" he demanded.  "I can't imagine anyone eating bird's saliva."


Realizing that there was no hope of converting him, or encouraging him to try something different, the chef asked what he would prefer instead.

 
The salesman responded, "Oh, just fix me an omelet."


Moral of the story.   True sales professionals know that in order to succeed in business, sometimes you have to adapt to different cultures in order to build rapport.   Refusing to even try foods from other lands could cause you to be perceived as arrogant, disrespectful or rude.  As far as the business is concerned, you could lose a lot of it, and your career could end up in hot water!   So please, just eat the soup
.

"When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought it would pay off."     -  Vanna White