THE SHOE SALESMAN

There was a successful company that manufactured and
sold shoes. One day the management had a meeting to
consider opening their market in Africa. They sent one
of their top salesman to Africa to make a study of the
market potential there. Upon arriving in Africa he
noticed that most of the Africans were bare-footed. He
faxed home the message, “ Bad news, nobody wears shoes
here!” And he followed up with the report that there is
no market for shoes in Africa. The management
considered it wise to have a second opinion, and
decided to send another salesman to Africa to assess
the market there. Upon arrival in Africa, the second
salesman was so excited that he quickly faxed a message
back, “Good news, nobody wears shoes here!” He hurried
home and reported to the management, “Gentlemen, we are
going to be “rich”, there is a big market in Africa ,
and what we need to do is to educate them on the
benefits and importance of wearing shoes.”