Tips from a Wee Salesman

I watched a salesman close a deal the day after Thanksgiving. The Black Friday transaction didn’t go down at a mall, or a big box retailer. Money didn't even change hands. Instead, the setting was a kitchen, and the currency was sweeter than cash.

My husband’s family celebrates Thanksgiving the day after the holiday. Turkey and dressing were not yet cold in the fridge when the sales pitch began to take shape. The request was simple and the audience was targeted. The pint-sized deal man made his one-word plea to those tall enough to reach the counter, and young enough to hear him speak. I marveled at the lesson being taught by 28 months of life experience. He had already pleaded with others who were unsympathetic, when looked up at me and said, “Cupcake.” He was not a man dying from thirst, but a boy in plain sight of blue frosted heaven. He explained the urgency of his request by repeating himself.

I reluctantly told him that answering his question was beyond my pay grade. He moved on – undeterred. No tantrum, no tears. I couldn’t help him, he needed someone who could. His grandmother at the stove most certainly outranked me, but she like any good customer had questions.

“What did your mother say?” she asked.

“No,” he replied with a level of honesty that escapes most children when speaking of cake.

“Did you ask your dad? What did he say?” Grandma was in his corner, but her apron strings were tied.

“No,” he said flatly knowing the situation was looking grim.   

Grandma learned from her daughter that her grandson had already eaten dessert. He stood there, looking up at them both with no emotion. His silence was key. As a mother of a son and a witness to negotiations similar to this, I knew his behavior was making it difficult for the rule makers. He was honest, quiet, smart and hard to turn down. His actions were critical. The deal hung in the balance. 

The silence was broken by a young cousin entering the kitchen requesting dinner, which caused the stomachs of all the other children to grumble. New terms to the deal were drawn. Eat dinner and a cupcake could be had. He worked his legs double time to the table. After an entire plate of leftover spaghetti, his request was met at long last.

Later as my nuclear family began walking toward the door, the young man’s father headed the same direction. His wife explained their eldest was still eating dessert. “How long can a cupcake take?” he wondered aloud.  I turned my head to see the sales man, who keenly used honesty, integrity, persistence, and a calm attitude with a quiet tongue to close a deal, savoring his Black Friday earnings.