The_Salesman, Part 8

The salesman will be provided with a full “sales kit.” This kit will include one or more three ring binders full of plastic coated color photos of the company president, the company, busy workmen, and happy customers. He may also have one or more video tapes which he can show. He probably won’t have any DVDs because the demographic he is selling to does not own a DVD player. Yes, Lawrence Welk is on DVD. Lastly, he will have grid lined drawing paper to do his measurements, and a retractible tape measure. He will probably only use a Sears tape measure because all of these tape measure fail, but Sears has 100% replacement guarantee.

He will also have samples of a window, and of exterior coatings, and kitchen counter tops, and kitchen cabinet doors. He will have enough “stuff” that it does not fit in the trunk of his car and it has spread out over the back seat.

He will also have prepackaged trinkets with him. These trinkets are things he will “spontaniously and suddenly and while overcome with cozy friendship and affection” return to the customer’s home and hand to the wife, five minutes after he walked out the door with the order. These trinkets can be anything he wants to give – but with a value of less than about five dollars. “Sudden urges” like this are known to be quite effective in stopping someone from cancelling a sale, so that’s why they have been made illegal if valued at over some small dollar amount.