Story of the Superhero - Salesman
The story is set in an era, when wars were fought with bows and arrows.
A kingdom was under attack from its adversary a neighboring kingdom. The king was righteous, brave and highly skilled in warfare and he also had the support of his people. He advised the people about the tough times ahead and summoned his council of ministers to make necessary defense strategies to defend his kingdom.
During this hustle bustle a Salesman sought the audience of the king, to show him is highly specialized product that can used in the war. The salesman tried to inform his guards that he had an excellent solution that will help the King overcome this challenge. But the guards felt that this was a difficult time for the king and passing on messages from salesman, would not be a right thing to do and a waste of time. The sales man tried to contact the council members and explain the product and its advantage, even they did not give him an ear. The sales man tried to contact the king through other channels too, however, met with the same fate. The guards, the Ministers nobody wanted to listen to the salesman nor give him access to the king as they perceived that this time was to be utilized towards the war and war preparation.
The King fought hard, and his brave men supported him admirably. But sadly he lost. He and his people suffered the consequences of the war.
The salesman was a weapons specialist and had invented a weapon that had longer range than conventional bow and arrows, could shoot multiple arrows with reduced arrow loading time, high level of accuracy, so on and so forth. This weapon could have been the game changer, the competitive advantage. This weapon would have smashed the enemy offensive and could have been the difference between loss and victory.
If the guards had informed the king, if the ministers has informed the king, if the other channel that were contacted would have understood the importance of this solution, may be the story could have a different ending.
Decision maker, please reflect, how many times - sales people are blocked by building guards, reception, operations guys, other functionaries who do not give them access to the decision maker, to save the decision makers from the menace of a Salesmen.
This is an innocuous story, yet with a powerful message that is relevant even today. It is SALES who introduce brings the innovation into our doorsteps/lives. They empower us with the new innovations/products/solutions/information and give us that competitive edge. Salesmen bring in revenue which is the real lifeline for any organization and in turn lifeline for our families. Salesman is our HERO.
A story that inspired me to join SALES