Forget The Naked Corporation by Don Tapscott, or Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. The best business success manual out there is Green Eggs and Ham, written by Dr. Seuss in 1960. Everything you need to know to succeed is described in this story. Success is only achieved by those who are committed to make it happen. And this little book is about how to do just that.

In 2005, the ability to make things happen was as valuable and as precious as ever. Gasoline retailers faced the third consecutive year of twenty-plus percent increases in product costs. Further cost spikes and outages and allocations came in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September. The irony of the resulting margin squeeze and cash squeeze coupled with public accusations of price gouging raised the bar for success in gasoline retailing.

There are five main messages that the protagonist in Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-Am, demonstrates for us:

SELL WHAT YOU’VE GOT
Even if all you have to sell is green eggs and ham, you can do it with enthusiasm and conviction. Though your product may not be attractive on the surface, it is worth your effort when you believe in it. Gasoline is under attack today for its (in my opinion, misunderstood) environmental cost and its ever-rising economic cost. Nevertheless, it is still the best thing we’ve got to run our cars right now.

BE PERSISTENT
Sam-I-Am makes 16 offers to try green eggs “in a box, with a fox, in a house, with a mouse,” etc.. He could have stopped after asking once...or twice. Instead he asked 16 times and 16 different ways. Persistence and persuasion are effective ways to communicate your message (and generate sales!).

OVERCOME OBSTACLES
Those 16 offers were met with
74 emphatic and conclusive rejec-
tions! Seemingly, there was not a
lot of interest in the product.
(Spoiler alert: The offer was ulti-
mately accepted!) Don’t let per-
ceived roadblocks discourage you.

CREATE SATISFACTION
After trying just about everything else, Sam-I-Am put forth a personally satisfaction-guaranteed trial (“try them, try them you will see.”) This offer was the one that finally got results. There are always creative ways to close a deal. For gasoline, the traditional buying motivations of necessity and convenience are influenced by savings in this relentlessly upward price market.

KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR
The smile never leaves Sam-I-Am’s face throughout all the trials and rejections. Real growth and progress come from conflict. Revelations like, “I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-Am” are worth the fight. In the midst of all the challenges faced in 2005, there were signs of hope and events for which we can be thankful. We can be grateful that the Energy Policy Act became law in August, bringing progress in the reduction of boutique fuels and some incentives to increase gasoline supply. Perhaps the best legislation to improve our energy markets is yet to come. This year at last, Congress was able to agree to do something.

The response of gasoline retailers to the devastation caused by hurricanes in the Gulf Coast showed the admirable character that is always assumed and rarely called upon among gasoline retailers. Businesses that were destroyed set about the task of rebuilding and helping neighbors against tremendous odds. Help poured in from around the country in the form of long-distance tanker deliveries and cash assistance. Although it was an extreme way to make the point, the 2005 hurricanes reminded us of just how lucky we are to be among a community of retailers with the determination and capacity to rise above adversity.

Nothing important was ever done without hard work and persistence. You can absorb the rejections and still keep trying if you believe in what you have to offer. Dr. Seuss said it better than me. Read the book.

Bill Shipley III
SIGMA President