I’ve heard the saying before that a good salesman can sell refrigerators to Eskimos, but I didn’t think it was based on a true story. Somebody actually did sell refrigerators to Eskimos. That ’somebody’ was Red Mottley…back in the 1940’s after WW-2.
He was a super salesman of his day…along with the “Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak”, marketing master, Ben Sweetland.
Red wanted to take a semi-truck full of Refrigerators to Alaska to sell to the Eskimos.
The manufacturer told him he was crazy… “Everything freezes in Alaska!”…
Red replied…”Exactly’…that’s why I’ll sell them all fast” …which he did…it is one of the greatest success stories in sales history.
Red Mottley introduced Refrigeration to Alaska.
It just goes to show that a great salesman can sell a product that others will swear people will never buy.