Basic Sales Truths Work in Real Life

I flew to Iowa last Thursday

I spent a long week-end in the Quad cities.

I went to see my daughter and her family. Her husband was transferred last year. He was told to move or lose his job. Nice. They have three beautiful children that I haven’t seen in months. Boy 9, girl 7, girl 4. They are precious cargo and I am greatly blessed for the chance to spend quality time with them.

No Surprises

We had a happy and loving reunion. The kids have grown and had a lot to show and tell me.

Until...

As we settled down for the evening it was me and the three children on the big couch hugging and watching television. I was in a good place to be. That is until they put the “Veggie Tales” in the DVD player.

If you aren’t familiar with “Veggie Tales, The Dance of the Cucumber”, it is an animate movie about a Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato who sing and play with other vegetables. Not my idea of how to spend an evening.

I had to make a quick decision. Should I watch the singing vegetables and have my grand kids hug my neck for two hours or leave and watch the History Channel in the other room. The decision was not even close. Hugs and vegetables won, hands down.

The Lesson

This is a sales classic. According to Zig Ziglar, “You can get anything you want if you give others what they want”. I wanted hugs and kisses and paid a very small price to get a big return. They wanted hugs and kisses and the Veggie Tales. That was a win-win. It is a great example of the truth we face daily as professional salespeople.

Thanks to Larry and Bob