In your eyes, only those who want to buy shoes are your customers; in my eyes, everyone is my customer—even the man desperately trying to sell me a hat!
In the 1920s, as sports became increasingly popular, three sports shoe workshops emerged one after another in the small German town of Herzogenaurach. One of the owners was a young man in his early twenties. He had originally been a street shoe repairman, working alongside his father. Later, spotting a business opportunity in the sports industry, he boldly invested to establish his own shoemaking workshop.
On one occasion, the young man traveled by bus to Nuremberg with the owners of the other two workshops to sell their shoes. Halfway through the journey, a salesman carrying a large bag of hats boarded the bus. He was a man obsessed with sales, and immediately upon entering, he pulled several hats from his bag and began enthusiastically pitching them.
The young man and the other two owners were also there to sell their own products and naturally had no interest in the hats. His two companions turned their heads away indifferently, but the young man was different—he listened with genuine interest. Later, the salesman asked him, "Buy a hat! Once I get off, you'll miss this great opportunity!"
"You make a good point," the young man replied seriously, "but your appearance significantly reduces my desire to buy."
"My appearance? Do you mean my outfit is inappropriate?" the hat salesman asked, puzzled.
"No. You're wearing a very nice hat and stylish clothes, but your shoes are covered in dust and even mud. This indirectly damages the image of the products you're selling!" the young man explained.
The salesman quickly brushed the dirt off his shoes, but clearly, the mud wasn't so easily removed. Embarrassed, he said, "Well, as a traveling salesman, that's just unavoidable!"
"Exactly! But if you wore a pair of sneakers that can be wiped clean anytime, you could completely avoid this!" The young man said, lifting his foot to demonstrate. He sprinkled some dust on his own shoes, then wiped them clean with a damp cloth.
The hat salesman's eyes lit up. He realized that wearing sneakers was indeed a great choice—not only were they more comfortable for walking than boots, but most importantly, they could be wiped clean like dress shoes, helping him maintain his best appearance and ensuring that his image wouldn't diminish others' willingness to buy!
Excited, the salesman couldn't help but ask where the young man had bought his shoes. He declared that the first thing he'd do after getting off the bus was to buy a pair. At that moment, the young man opened the large shoe bag beside him and said, "You can buy one right here and now!"
As expected, the man who had been trying so hard to sell hats to the young man ended up buying a pair of shoes from him. Meanwhile, the other two owners sat with their heads turned away, idly staring out the window.
A few years later, the young man's workshop had grown into a large shoe company, while the other two owners were still struggling in place, eventually closing their businesses and going to work for the young man's company. When they once asked him how he achieved such success, he said this: "In your eyes, only those who want to buy shoes are your customers; in my eyes, everyone is my customer—even the one trying so hard to sell me a hat!"
This young man's company later became the world-famous German sports equipment manufacturer "Adidas," and he himself was Adidas's founder, Adolf Dassler.