Is boredom a good enough reason to quit?

Published: Wed, 06/10/26

Updated: Wed, 06/10/26

June 10, 2026

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome back, Quota readers. It's another beautiful week in the sales trenches, where we’re always one (or five hundred) emails away from closing that 4-carat diamond deal. In this week’s late spring issue, we’ll look at the story of Frank Bettger. Then, a Sales Fail about negotiating, memes, advice, and more. Enjoy!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

The first follow-up email boosts the reply rate by 49%.

Source: Belkins

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

A Philadelphia used car salesman has been sentenced to prison after stealing millions of dollars from customers who were looking to buy wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Edward Rock advertised and accepted payment for vehicles but never delivered them to dozens of unsuspecting customers. He repeatedly lied to clients, forged compliance letters, fabricated excuses for non-delivery, sold the same vehicle to multiple buyers, accepted payment for non-existent vehicles, used family accounts to conceal his transactions, passed bad checks, stopped payment on refunds, and converted his victims’ funds into cash. You can read more about it here.
Spring is supposed to be the best time to sell a home—but this year, a growing number of sellers across the U.S. are giving up. In April, 5.8% of all home listings nationwide were pulled off the market, according to data from Redfin, tying December 2025 for the highest share of delistings since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic brought the housing market to a near-complete halt. Delistings were up 3.8% from March, right in the heart of the spring selling season, which is historically the period when buyer demand peaks and deals get done. The cities seeing the sharpest pullbacks are spread across the country. You can read more about what’s happening and why here.

FEATURE

The Failed Baseball Player Who Wrote One of the Greatest Sales Books of All Time

Most salespeople have heard of Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, or Tom Hopkins.

Fewer know the name Frank Bettger.

That's surprising, because Bettger wrote one of the most influential sales books ever published: How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. First released in 1947, the book remains in print nearly eighty years later and continues to show up on recommended reading lists for sales professionals.

The story behind the book is just as interesting as the lessons inside it.

Before Bettger became a successful salesman, he wanted to be a professional baseball player.

As a young man, he played in the minor leagues and dreamed of making it to the big leagues. Instead, he struggled. According to Bettger, one of his managers told him he lacked enthusiasm. He looked slow, uninterested, and uninspired on the field. Eventually, he was released.

But that criticism stuck with him.

Determined to save his baseball career, Bettger decided to force himself to play with visible energy. He sprinted on and off the field. He hustled after every ball. He played as though he were the most excited player in the stadium.

The change was immediate.

People noticed. Coaches noticed. Teammates noticed. Bettger believed his performance improved as well. More importantly, he discovered something that would shape the rest of his life: enthusiasm could change how others perceived him, and it could change how he felt about himself.

His baseball career never reached the heights he had hoped for, but the lesson followed him into sales.

Like many new salespeople, Bettger struggled early. He sold life insurance and often found himself discouraged after difficult days and rejected pitches. Yet he kept returning to the same principle he had learned on the baseball field. He approached prospects with energy, curiosity, and confidence.

Over time, his results improved dramatically.

Bettger became one of the top-producing insurance salesmen in the country. Along the way, he developed a simple sales philosophy. Ask questions. Listen carefully. Stay interested in the customer. Be enthusiastic about your work. Keep moving forward after rejection.

Those ideas may sound familiar today, but Bettger was writing about them decades before modern sales podcasts, CRM dashboards, and LinkedIn influencers existed (yeah, yeah, yeah—The Quota too).

In 1947, he published How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. The book combined stories from his baseball days, lessons from his sales career, and practical advice that readers could immediately apply.

And it struck a chord.

Salespeople appreciated that Bettger didn't present himself as a natural-born superstar. His story began with failure—perhaps rare at the time. He wrote openly about mistakes, insecurity, and learning through experience. Readers saw someone who struggled, adapted, and improved.

That may explain why the book has endured for so long.

Nearly eighty years after its publication, sales has changed dramatically. Prospecting happens through email. Meetings take place over Zoom. Entire industries have appeared and disappeared (remember NFTs?).

Yet Bettger's core message still feels relevant.

People respond to enthusiasm. They remember energy. They trust people who are engaged and interested in helping them. Those ideas worked on a baseball field in the early 1900s, and they still work in sales conversations today.

For a man who started his career by getting cut from a baseball team, Frank Bettger ended up leaving a surprisingly lasting mark on the profession of selling.

TOGETHER WITH I HOPE THIS EMAIL FINDS YOU NEVER

I Hope This Email Finds You Never is what you get when someone finally writes about work without the corporate BS.

4.2 stars on Amazon and packed with the real advice you need:

• How long you can milk being "new" before someone expects you to actually work
• The art of fake apologies that preserve your honor
• Strategic camera angles for maximum Zoom intimidation
• Kitchen politics and why eating someone's yogurt is literally a crime
• Calendar management that includes adequate crying time
• Writing your resignation letter when you've been resigned since day one

From Orientation (aka The Descent) to Working Remotely (wink wink) to Coworkers (your fellow inmates), this book covers everything you need to survive the modern workplace.

Warning: This book will not make you successful. But it might keep you sane.

BUY NOW

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

Which of the following car brands doesn’t exist anymore?

A. Daihatsu
B. BYD
C. Polestar
D. Daewoo

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Several years ago, I worked a software deal that should have closed in about 30 days, max. The prospect literally negotiated every single step. He owned the company and definitely didn’t make it easy.

He wanted extra users included. Then discounted pricing. Then free onboarding. Then revised contract language. Then another pricing review after procurement got involved.

Every time I thought we were done, another email would arrive with more requests. It was honestly kind of comical after a while, but I (and my company) needed the deal.

For two months, I kept telling myself that all the negotiating was actually a good sign. Nobody spends this much time negotiating a deal they're not serious about buying. Eventually, we got to the finish line.

I sent over the final agreement for signature.

The prospect replied the next morning: "After further review, we've decided not to move forward."

He literally did not give me a reason why.

I spent eight weeks negotiating with this lunatic. The lesson: sometimes a prospect just enjoys negotiating because he likes the power it gives him. Knowing this would have saved me a lot of time.

Anonymous

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- June 2026

WORTH A PEEK

What do sales leaders look for in early career sales professionals? And what are some of the immediate red flags? This question was recently posted to Reddit—and anyone who’s considering making a job change might get value from the responses. Check out the conversation here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I have been at the same company for over eight years. I make good money (125k base / 190 OTE), hit quota regularly, and genuinely enjoy the people I work with. But if I'm being honest with myself, I'm bored out of my mind.

Every day feels exactly the same. I don't feel challenged anymore, and I can't remember the last time I woke up excited to go to work. Is boredom a good enough reason to leave a job that's otherwise pretty good or am I a moron for even considering it?

Bored in Location Withheld

----

Dear Bored,

Yes, it can be. A bad manager can make you miserable, but so can spending years on autopilot.

That doesn't mean you should quit tomorrow. Ask yourself whether you need a new job or just a new challenge. Sometimes an internal change (a new territory, mentoring reps, etc.) can solve the problem. Some people also try finding challenging things outside of work.

But if you've tried it all and are still feeling malaise everyday, pay attention. Good jobs are hard to find, but you can never get back the years you’ve spent checked out.

Quiz answer: D. Daewoo is a car brand that doesn’t exist anymore (you can see the source article here)

How did you like today's story?

Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik and Steve Rado.

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