Know Your Potatoes: A Sales Fable

“Everyone lives by selling something” -Robert Louis Stevenson

This little nugget of sales wisdom made its way to my desk a few years ago.

Although the author is unknown, the message is golden and one that I abide by.

It serves to remind everyone who sells, regardless of industry or audience, the importance of communicating 'value'.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have—feel free to share and pass along to team members and others...

Know Your Potatoes!

Two farm wagons stood in the public market, both loaded with potatoes.

A housewife stopped beside the first wagon asked, “How much are your potatoes today?”

“Dollar and a quarter”, replied the farmer.

“I only paid a dollar last time, the woman protested.
“Taters have gone up”, grunted the farmer and turned aside.

At the next wagon, the housewife asked the same question, but Ma McGuire knew her potatoes. “These are especially fine white potatoes”, she said. “We grow only the kind with small eyes so there will be no waste in peeling. Then we sort ‘em by size. In each bag you’ll find a large size for boiling and cutting up. And a smaller size for baking. The baking size cooks quickly and uniformly.”
“These potatoes are clean too”, she continued. “You could put them in the parlor without soiling your carpet—you don’t pay for a lot of dirt. They’re a buy at $1.65. Shall I have them put in your car?”

The woman who thought that the first farmer’s potatoes were too high bought from Ma McGuire at a higher price.

All of which proves that it is much more important to establish value than to quote a price.

As corny as it may sound...it always pays to know your potatoes!