“So I played the heart on the nine and Gladys, totally disgusted, dropped her hand on the table so firmly it nearly caused my Chamomile tea to splash over onto my mother’s embroidered table cloth,” Millie Garrett chuckled and continued in her charming southern drawl, “And so’s I told her—‘I told you Gladys, this was my hand.’ Now, surely you’ll want both nightstands with that bedroom suite, right? Well, of course you do, Sweetheart, why would anyone buy the most gorgeous bedroom suite we have and not want both nightstands? You are so smart to buy this set and I’ll just add one of our best mattress and box springs to that. Come over here, Darlin’, let’s look at fabrics for your new comforter and pillow cases. So then Gladys says, ‘How in the world did you know I was going to play that corner?’ and I says, ‘Well, Sugar, because it’s the only smart play on the table, and you’re the best!’”
I was privileged to work the sales floor at Colonial Heights Furniture during the 70’s and 80’s when quality furniture was still made in idyllic southern towns with Mayberry-ish names like Thomasville, High Point and Charlotte.
The entire sales staff was required to attend weekly sales meetings—everyone, that is, except Millie. You see, Millie sold more furniture talking about her bridge game than the rest of us sold espousing the merits of the furniture. And she often did that without knowing either the manufacturer or the customer’s name. She simply called everyone Darlin’.
Coyly, she would demure, “I am just the worst when it comes to rememberin’ names, Darlin’, so will y’all please write it here for me? And go ahead and put your address and phone number down there, that way if you ever decide to buy something, we’ll already have that part done, won’t we?”
Millie was anything but insincere. She was completely genuine and disarming. With her bejeweled glasses draped around her neck she would make grand gestures as she waltzed through the showroom like a docent at an art gallery, cooing admiringly at every display, all the while building her customers’ appreciation for each new suite they encountered.
Mille had one sales approach—engage each customer in a flowing banquet of conversation and toss in purchase suggestions like Andes mints at The Olive Garden. It was not uncommon to overhear Millie’s customers ask, “Now what exactly did I buy?”
My favorite sales technique was to narrow the customers’ choices as quickly as possible and then simply ask, “So, if you were to make a purchase today, which one of these two would you choose?” When they responded, “I’d probably take the green one…” I’d close in with, “Well, let me see if I can get that delivered to you before Friday. Will Friday work for you?”
It is amazing how often that process carried the customer past the angst of deciding whether to purchase and onto deciding which day they’d prefer delivery. It may sound predatory but in real life it never felt that way. After all they had come to the store hoping to fulfill a furniture need, and when the customer finally came to a decision it was quickly followed by a sense of relief and often times, gratitude.
Each of us responds to the suggestions of others in different ways. Mille wooed her peers into purchasing furniture while engaging them in sparkling conversation. Although her approach didn’t work for everyone, she always made her customer feel special and she always presented Colonial Heights in its best light .
Our Christian walk is very much like that. We don’t all appeal to the same types of people, and our message may not always fall on receptive ears.
Once Jesus’ disciples ratted out some dude who didn’t do things exactly like they did. They complained, “…we told him to stop, because he wasn’t one of us.” Jesus’ response set a new paradigm for all of us who serve Him. Mark, one of those disciples. recalled it like this:
Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice.” Mark 9:39-41 The Message
If our hearts are right toward others, we will always represent our Lord at His best.
Read Ron’s column, Simple Faith, each Saturday on the Faith Page (page 3) of the Lancaster Eagle Gazette, or visit www.lancastereaglegazette.com.