It’s Pretty Much the Same Here

Adapted from an old fable.

A new salesperson beginning his first day of work turns and asks an old, veteran salesperson about his new job. He says, “What’s it really like here?” The veteran salesperson says, “What was it like where you sold before?” The new salesperson says, “It was awful. My sales manager was terrible. Our product had problems. Our target clients only cared about price. And our competitors beat us on price over and over again.” The veteran salesperson replied, “It’s pretty much the same here.”

A few days later another new salesperson joined the company. As she is setting up her desk, she asks the veteran salesperson, “What’s it like here?” The veteran salesperson says, “What was it like where you sold before?” She says, “It was wonderful. My sales manager was a great leader and coach. We had a great product. We did great for clients that appreciated us. And we punched way above our weight class, beating our competitors for our dream clients.” The veteran salesperson replied, “It’s pretty much the same here.”

It is what ever you believe it is. And what you put out is always what you get back.