Why Groundwork is important - Story of Salesman in Dubai!!

A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East (Dubai) assignment.

A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?"

The salesman explained, "When I got posted in Dubai, I was very confident that I will make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there.

But, I had a problem; I didn't know to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through 3 posters.

First poster: a man crawling through the hot desert sand, totally exhausted and fainting. Second, the man is drinking our Cola and third, our man is now totally refreshed.

Then these posters were pasted all over the place."

"That should have worked," said the friend.

The salesman replied, "Well, not only did I not speak Arabic, I also didn't realize that Arabs read from right to left..."