“Pardon me,” she said, “I’m sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that you look just like my son, who I haven’t seen in a long time.”
“That’s a shame,” replied the young man, “is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes,” she said, “as I’m leaving, can you say ‘Goodbye, Mother!’ It would make me feel so much better.”
“Sure,” answered the young man. As the old woman was leaving, he called out, “Goodbye, Mother!” As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50. “How can that be?” he asked, “I only purchased a few things!”
“Your mother said that you would pay for her,” said the clerk.
Moral of the story: In sales you can never let your guard down. If a prospect places an order that's too good to be true check their credit! If a prospect demands too much of your time; check to see if they have a budget, a timeline and what the scale of their project is before committing to doing anything. Perpetual tirekickers are leeches on your time which is the only resource you have to reach quota and meet your own goals. Don't give your time away too easily! Don't get caught holding the bag while someone else gets the business!
"I think that if you haven't been to the grocery store in a really long time, it's really easy to get very out of touch." - Zooey Deschanel
