Marketing thinking - Sale An Axe to President

Photo by Ivan Bertolazzi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/neon-signage-2681319/

In the year 2001, an American salesman known as George Herbert successfully sold an axe to President George W. Bush. The Brookings Institution presented him with a golden boot engraved with "The Greatest Salesman". This is the second cadet to receive such a high honor since a cadet of the Society successfully sold a miniature tape recorder to Nixon in 1975.

Founded in 1927, the Brookings Institution is known for fostering the world's most outstanding salesmen. The institution has a tradition that before students graduate, they must complete a salesmanship exercise specially designed for them.

During President Bill Clinton's, they had a topic: "Please sell a pair of briefs to Clinton." Over the course of eight years, countless students had racked their brains for this, but no one had succeeded. After Clinton left office, the Brookings Institution changed the title to "Sell an axe to President Bush."

Many of them have given up because of the mistakes and lessons they have learnt during the past eight years. Some students believe that the exercise is unrealistic because the president may not need an axe. Even if he needs it, they may not buy it from you.

George Herbert did it, and he didn't make much effort. When a reporter interviewed him, he mentioned that it's perfectly possible to sell an axe to President Bush. Because President Bush had a farm in Texas where many trees grew. George Herbert wrote to President Bush a letter saying:

"Once, I had the privilege of visiting your farm, and there were many trees growing on your farm. I found some trees were dying. You needed an axe to chop them down."

''But judging from your current physical condition, the ordinary small axe is obviously too light, so you need a larger axe. I now have one, which was my grandfather's gift to me, and it is suitable for cutting dead trees. If you are interested, please reply to this letter."

After George Herbert's success, the Brookings Institution honored him and said that the Golden Boot had been vacant for 26 years. In the past 26 years, the Brookings Institution has trained thousands of salesmen and millionaires, but the golden boot was not awarded to them. It is because the institution keeps looking for someone who never gives up and never loses confidence when something is hard to do.

A Marketing Revelation:

It's not because something is hard to do, then we lose confidence. But it is because we lose confidence, then the task becomes extremely hard to complete. In marketing, greater success can only be achieved when you have confidence and without fear of hardship.