Looking for the Killer App: Why Southerners Succeed in Business
I seem to be getting a lot of content about innovation these days. But those in marketing and especially sales are seldom in a position to wait for innovation to come down the development pipeline; indeed, we are often told to “sell what you have.” I went to my favorite Chinese business book, Why Southerners Succeed in Business, and found this gem of a story.
A large company, in the south of course, was looking for new salespeople. An ad drew hundreds of responses. The company gave the applicants an assignment: to sell hair combs to Buddhist monks who, by tradition, have shaven heads. The assignment frustrated and angered all but three applicants, who were given a supply of samples and ten days to complete the assignment.
Li, the first applicant who returned, told of being scolded and in fact thrown out by angry monks at a hilltop monastery. As the dejected Li hobbled down the hill, he saw a young monk lying in the sun, scratching his itchy scalp. Li immediately offered his comb to the young monk, who tried scratching his head with it, felt satisfied, and paid for the one comb.
The second applicant, Zhang, did better. As he walked toward the monastery, he noticed that the wind was blowing hard and the pilgrims who were heading toward the monastery to burn incense entered the temple looking a little disheveled, with their hair out of place. Zhang went up to the head of the monastery and suggested that poor grooming was a sign of disrespect to the deity. He then recommended that the monastery put a comb in front of every altar, so that pilgrims could brush their hair before lighting incense. Zhang proudly reported that he had sold ten combs.
To everyone’s astonishment, the third applicant, Wang, reported that he had sold his entire inventory of 500 samples and received an order for 10,000 combs from just one monastery in the area. It turned out that Wang had repackaged each comb he was given and, with a simple label, branded it the “Comb of Virtue.” He gave the monastery an initial batch of branded combs and instructed that the monks briefly brush the hair of each pilgrim after the worship session and then give the comb to the pilgrim. Word soon spread about the Comb of Virtue, and that it was available exclusively from this one monastery. Pilgrims began crowding the monastery, and revenue—in the form of incense purchased and donations—increased dramatically. The delighted monastery head placed the order for 10,000 combs.
Do you have a favorite “selling ice to Eskimos” story? Please share.