Sounds great, doesn’t it? All you have to do is “buy my book” or “take my on-line courses for this low, low price”

Well, it just doesn’t work for me. I am a lousy salesperson. I could never develop “the spiel” about my puppies or my books. Worse, I suspected other people who sold their puppies. The “spiel” was half true, the rest was just made up out of whole cloth. I just could not do it.

But then I met a woman who was a talented saleswoman. No spiel. No hard sell. No half-truths.

This is how it went.

When I was living in Canada, a friend from California came for a visit. We did all the touristy things. We drove through the Rockies, visited every animal farm and sanctuary, went to dog shows, and just hung out.

One day I mentioned Saskatoon’s. “What are they?” asked Myra. “Well,” said I, “they are the Canadian version of blueberries, just not as sweet.”

“Well, let’s go get some. I would like to try them.”

So off we went to the grocery store. No Saskatoon’s. I drove around looking for the trucks that sold fruits from British Columbia and corn from Southern Alberta. No Saskatoon’s. The fruit merchants suggested we drive to southern Alberta and ask around at the farms. So, we did just that.

We packed overnight things and set off on our quest for Saskatoon’s.

As we stopped and asked at the farms, we were told that maybe the Hutterites had some. They gave us directions to the nearest Hutterite colony and set off.

We drove in and knocked at the first house we came to. A woman answered the door, listened to our request, and said she just might have some that she had put up in jars. Somehow–I am not sure just how it happened–she gave us a walking tour of the colony. The pig building was off limits, but we saw the barns and dining rooms, the stacked fodder. We eventually got back to her house where she offered us cold drinks, coffee, tea and cookies. Then she brought out some moccasins she had made. But no Saskatoon’s. They were out of season; she said.

This was the “softest sell” I have ever experienced. We bought the moccasins. How else could we show our gratitude?

Myra and I never found those pesky Saskatoon’s that summer, but we had a good time looking for them and a pair of moccasins each. And we saw a lot of southern Alberta, too.

Unfortunately, I was unable to use this sales strategy in selling my puppies or books. But it worked