Tale of the two shoe salesmen

March 3, 2009 by Roy
Filed under: entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, management, Selling

Rewriting this from memory, because I can’t find my copy and I can’t remember where I got it from (hence I can’t quote the source).

Anyway, it’s a good story to share, especially for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.

Tale of the two shoe salemen

The top salesman of a leading shoe company was sent to a remote island to promote their brand of shoe.

Unfortunately, upon reaching the shore of the said island, he noticed that none of the locals were wearing shoes… not even slippers! They were all barefooted.

Dumbfounded by his discovery, he immediately called their office and reported to his boss, “Sir, I don’t think we can sell any shoes here. Nobody here is wearing shoes, all of the locals are used to being barefooted. I guess I should just go back.”

And so, the salesman went back to the city immediately.

The next day, another shoe salesman from the competing company arrived at the same island. Just like the first one, he noticed that all people there were barefooted.

And just like the first saleman, he immediately made a call to their head office to report and said, “Sir, send more shoes here quickly! We got great potentials here! Nobody here has a shoe yet! We’ll be the first to introduce it to them!”

He was all grin when he put the phone the down as he assess the opportunity in front of him.

The two salesmen have been in the same island, but why did they see different things?

In a situation, would you rather focus on the problem? Or do you see any opportunity in it?

Sometimes, we fail to see the opportunities because we are focusing too much on the problem (or limitations).

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Tags: entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, optimistic, pessimissm, problem, remote island, right mindset, sales, salesmen, seeing opportunities, Selling, shoe salesman, shoes, solution

Comments

15 Comments on Tale of the two shoe salesmen

Blogjoints.com Trackback | Rate this Article on Tue, 3rd Mar 2009 9:26 pm

Tale of the two shoe salesmen : Roysville…

to salesmen seeing two different things in the same situation…

one sees the problem…

the other one saw the opportunity!

…

Jena Isle on Wed, 4th Mar 2009 3:44 am

I agree, a positive attitude would make all the difference in the world. As the cliche goes “Life is what you make it!” We experience what we want to experience. We should always opt for the positive because it is the way to stay happy. Happiness is a state of the mind . Likewise with perception, it is also a state of the mind. Cheers and remain optimistic always.

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gengen on Wed, 4th Mar 2009 6:59 pm

nice post Roy…

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Roy on Wed, 4th Mar 2009 7:25 pm

thanks Jena and gengen!

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Roy on Wed, 4th Mar 2009 10:41 pm

just testing my newly installed CommenLuv plugin

Roy’s last blog post..Ano ba ang magagawa ng isang oras?

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chee gumiran on Thu, 5th Mar 2009 3:03 am

hi sir roy! nice post! could i link this to my blog, too? ganda kasi i-share

God bless!
chee

chee gumiran’s last blog post..Ate Aya’s birthday wish

[Reply]

Roy on Thu, 5th Mar 2009 4:13 am

Hi Chee! Glad to see you here!

Sure, no problem Chee, thanks!

Roy’s last blog post..Celebrity contestants?… Yes, it’s still about business

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bloggista on Thu, 5th Mar 2009 9:16 am

Hello bro! I always love this story – one of my favorites. even if told a hundred of times, still one gets refreshing thoughts and motivation to think differently, out of the box, be creative and full of initiatives.

bloggista’s last blog post..Passive Income Spotlight: The Health and Wellness Billion Dollar Business

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Roy on Thu, 5th Mar 2009 9:39 am

Hi B!

nice to see you in my new home

indeed, this a very beautiful story, so fitting for every entrepreneur

thanks for dropping by!

Roy’s last blog post..Mothers and arithmetic

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Ron on Tue, 10th Mar 2009 5:00 pm

Hi Roy,

Nice post! Indeed an important lesson to learn. We need to learn to see the possibilities in everything we do and not take anything for granted.

It’s better to solve the problem and see results than to walk away and miss out.

BTW. Thanks for dropping by Fall of a Dictator. I’m not that young man! I take that as a compliment. Hehehehehe!

Ron’s last blog post..The "Right Now" Tag

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Roy on Tue, 10th Mar 2009 5:52 pm

hehehe… you look younger in your picture, hehe…

thanks for dropping by

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jan on Wed, 11th Mar 2009 10:19 am

Great story. Blogging is not all about dishing off a laundry list of anything, or well thought out opinions, or even how-to’s. It’s a story like this that can distinguish a blog from the garden variety type of blogs that litter the blogosphere.

I love stories. Stories are compelling. It comes to you obliquely, not a hard sell. When posts stretch from end to end with the same approach they tend to lose their power of persuasion. Stories perk up the bleary eyed readers. And they sit up and take notice.

You give me an idea. I have something to take away. Very fruitful visit for me.

jan’s last blog post..Give Me an Insightful Comment and I’ll Promote You to Front Page

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Roy on Wed, 11th Mar 2009 10:30 pm

yes indeed, stories are a great way to teach….

hmm… I’m curious, what could that ‘something to take away’ be?

Roy’s last blog post..Where to find jobs after graduation

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WiseCrunch on Sat, 28th Mar 2009 8:39 am