The Art of Salesmanship
A young man from Wisconsin moved to Florida and applied for a job at a huge everything-under-one-roof department store.
During the brief interview the store manager asked, “Do you have any sales experience?” The young man replied, “Yeah, I was a salesman back in Wisconsin. I worked at a car dealership, a general department store and I also sold real estate.”
The manager took a liking to the young man and gave him a job saying, “You can start tomorrow. Be here by 9:00 in the morning and ask to speak with Tom Barnes. He is the assistant store manager and he will show you what you need to do. I’ll come down after we close and see how you did.” With that they shook hands and parted ways.
After the store closed and the doors were locked up , the boss went to see how the young man’s first day had gone. After looking all over the store, the manager finally found the young man sitting on a box in the stockroom, hunched over and looking exhausted.
“How was your first day, son?” he asked.
“It was difficult learning about all the departments and products you sell here sir,” The young man replied.
Then the manager asked, “How many sales did you make today, son?”
The young man replied, “Only one.”
The manager then asked, “Well, how many customers did you talk to?”
Once again, he replied, “Only one.”
The manager responded, “Just one? Our sales people average 20 to 30 customers a day! How much was the sale for?”
“$101,237.65,” he replied.
“$101,237.65!” exclaimed the manager. “What the heck did you sell?”
The young man responded, “First, I sold the man a small fishhook. Then I sold him a medium fishhook. Then I sold him a larger fishhook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod, reel and a whole tackle box full of lures and stuff. Then, I asked him where he was going fishing, and he said he was going down the coast. I explained to him that if he was going to the coast, he was going to need a boat. We went down to the boat department and I sold him a twin engine fishing boat. After that, he said he didn’t think his Honda Civic could pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him a 4×4 Expedition.”
The store manager, with a look of astonishment on his face proclaimed, “A guy came in here to buy a fish hook, and you sold him a BOAT and a TRUCK?”
“No sir!” The young man said. “He came in to buy tampons for his wife. While I was showing him where the tampons were, I said, “Dude, your weekend’s shot. You should go fishing.”
Sugared Ink 