Busy Mom

A rich Dutch merchant was seeking to buy a certain diamond ring for his to-be-fiance. Afamous dealer in New York found such a stone andcalled him to come and see it.

The merchant flew immediately to New York, wherethe dealer had assigned his best diamond expertto close the transaction. The diamond expert described the stone's worth and beauty inperfect technical detail, but after the pitch, the Dutchman decided not to buy it.

Before he left the owner of the store stepped forward and asked, "Do you mind if I show you that stone once more?" The merchant agreed. The store owner did not repeat one thing thathis expert salesman had said. He simply took thestone in his hand, stared at it, and described the beauty of the stone in a way that revealedwhy this stone stood out from all the others hehad seen in his life. The customer bought it immediately.

Putting his new purchase into his breast pocket, the merchant said to the owner, "Sir, I wonderyou were able to sell me this stone when your salesman could not?The owner replied, That salesman is the best in the business. He knows more about diamonds than anyone, including myself, and I pay him a large salary for his knowledge and expertise. But I would gladly pay hIm twice as much if he had what I have. You see, he knows diamonds, but I love them."

If you are in sales, remember this: "people can smell a fake a mile away. And the sad thing about this is that many of the people in sales are indeed just fakinq it. They talk about the benefits of the products and its features using superlative descriptions. But their hearts are far from the product. Their only desire is to close a deal and to conquer another client.

If you are like this, then you are no good for sales. You may be intelligent, you may be skilled, you may be articulate and smart and good-looking, too: but unless you take the time
to love the product you are selling, to sell ithonestly as you know it, then you will never bean effective salesperson.
Many of the successful salespeople I know are people who take pride in their product and are willing to defend its integrity. They love theproduct they are selling. This gives them theadded advantage that you cannot find in professional salesmen whose objective is justget that precious order. Friends, loving yourwork, loving your product, is essential in achieving true success in your field.