"You Will Be My Hero. I Will Be Your Cheerleader"

A little boy skipped down the cobblestones in his village where upon he came upon a man working. He stopped to watch and asked the man, “Mister, what are you doing?”

The workman replied, “Can’t you see, I’m laying bricks.”

The little boy continued down the street whereupon he came upon a second man and asked him the same question, “Mister, what are you doing?”

The artisan looked at the boy and back at this job, “I’m building a wall that will stand straight and tall.”

The little boy continued walking whereupon he came to a third man and asked the same question, “Mister, what are you doing?”

The visionary looked at the boy and then up to the sky and across the horizon to the faraway hills that surrounded the small village and then he replied, “Son, I’m building a great cathedral that will soar into the heavens. When people on those hills and in those valleys look toward our little village they will be reminded there is a God in heaven that sends the rain to water the crops. When their burdens are too great to carry, they will know this is a place of sanctuary where they can lay down the pain in their lives.”

He pointed his finger heavenward and proclaimed, “And when they see this great dome they will draw courage for their day. The gentle man dropped to his knees and looked the little boy straight in the eye. “Sonny, I’m building a magnificent place of worship for you and your children and grandchildren for 1000 years to come. That’s what I’m doing.”

-----Let's bring this tale into our 'ville-----

Instead of distributors scouring the land for someone to recruit, prospects are searching the landscape for a sponsor to guide them along their directsalesville experience.

A young prospect comes upon a distributor and asks her, “Ma’am, what are you doing?”

The distributor extends a tube toward the prospect and extrudes a dollop of skin cream on the prospect's hand, “I sell skincare. It is the best product in the world. We have all the bells and whistles. Nobody else’s product can sing like our product sings. Our product is an opera singer in a hip-hop world. It’s naturally wonderful, technologically superior, and developmentally exotic. You can’t find a better product on the market anywhere. It’ll reduce wrinkles, take away age spots, and generally defy Mother Nature at every turn. Everything else is simply fluff compared to it. I take visa and mastercard and you can have a showing at your home with 10 ladies and earn…”

The prospect shook her head, wiped the cream from her hand and hurried away whereupon she came upon a second distributor hurrying toward her. Warily, the prospect asked the same question, “Ma’am what are you doing?

The intense distributor pulled the prospect into her personal space, laid a hand on her shoulder and lowered her voice, “I’m building a business. Our company has a car program. Just five more recruits and I get the car!” Screwing up here face like the old hag in the fairy tale she rubbed her hands together and leered, “I lo-ve to make money off people that I don’t know. Sign right here, right now! I take visa and mastercard!”

Quickly, the prospect disentangled herself from the business builder and hurried away whereupon she came upon a third distributor. Warily, she asked the same question, “Ma’am, what are you doing?”

The visionary looked gently at the young prospect and thoughtfully replied, “I listen and watch for those whose hearts cry out for understanding. I invite them to walk beside me. I believe in them. I encourage them. I build confidence in them. I challenge them to take their dreams off their wish list and put them on their to-do list. I watch my new friends bud and flourish like a beautiful rose. I smile like a proud mother when they walk across stage and receive recognition for a job well done.

Looking tenderly at the young prospect, her eyes twinkled as she extended her hand, palm up. She raised her eyebrows inquiringly.

Seeing relief on the face of the young prospect, she beckoned. “Come along, my friend. You are one of the great ones! You will be my hero. I will be your cheerleader.”