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along and get the money and you'll be left holding the sack." The next day a big "One Day Sales Contest" was held. This young fellow was so "burned up" by the manager's remarks that he won the contest by making seven good sales. He won over a large group of older salesmen who normally would have left him far behind.
The manager asked him how he did such a prodigious job when he had been so unsuccessful previously. He replied, "I went back to see all those men who had put me off. I told them that you said I was no good as a salesman because I didn't get the orders and the cash. I persuaded them to do it now."
The sales manager laughed and told him to retain that same determination to close and he would be a champion. The young man, from that time on, took pride in his ability to sell and his troubles were over.
CHAMPIONS LOVE TO WIN
A man who for many years has led his agency of insurance salesmen maintains that he doesn't pay any attention to the others in the group. However, when the weekly bulletin comes out, he scans it like a hawk to see where his name is listed. When the official monthly lists come out from the home office, he can hardly wait to see what the figures show. This man is a competitor from the word go—but he rejoices in the success of the other men in the agency too.
PROUD OF WHAT?
In other chapters we've discussed the pride a successful man must have in his job, his company, and the line of work he follows. In considering himself, what should he be proud of? Here are some ideas—
1. A leader is proud of his integrity. His work should be as good—yes, even better, than his bond. A retired marine
250 BE PROUD OF YOURSELF
major has been a great success as a salesman and one of his prime qualities is his very obvious forthrightness. One knows that if he says anything, that it's the truth.
2. A leader is proud of his industriousness. If a man's a
loafer, he'll never amount to much. So it's a wonderful
thing for a salesman to have an intense pride in the
fact that he's willing to pay the price of success by hard
work.
3. A leader is proud of his decency. This is a word that
covers a lot of ground. It relates to his kindliness, com-
passion, courtesy, helpfulness, fairness, and many other
qualities. He gets a kick out of doing favors for others.
He takes pride in the reputation he has gained for being
an upstanding decent man.
4. A leader is proud of his judgment. The man who gets
ahead is the one who looks ahead. He weighs the con-
sequences of what he plans to do. He considers the pros-
and cons of any situation that arises. As time goes on,
he takes pride in being able to arrive at a sound con-
clusion.
5. A leader is proud of the impression he makes. We've dis-
cussed this before. He is very conscious of the impor-
tance of what men see when they look at him and hear
when he talks. He is careful that his clothes are clean,
and well pressed. He wears a smile, talks with friendly
animation, walks with a spring in his step, and in every
way acts like a man who is proud of himself—as he ac-
tually is.
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