About ten tears ago my oldest daughter was about 7 years old and came to me
asking for money to buy some candy. I told her to think of a way to earn
some money and then she could buy her own candy. It was an obvious ploy to
get her to clean up or help in some way around the house. Nothing seemed
to come of it and so I let the matter go. Then we were grocery shopping a
few days later and she started putting candy bars in the cart. I stopped
her and told her she had not asked and we were not getting them. She
responded, “You don’t have to buy them Dad. I have my own money. She
pulled out a hand full of dollar bills from her pocket that were all
crumpled. In amazement I asked from where she had acquired the
money. She said, “You told me to find a way to earn it. So I
did. I sold rocks up and down our street.” She had visited my
parents that summer and had accumulated a stockpile of stones from Lake Erie
that she thought were pretty. Then she took those stones to the neighbors
and sold them for what she thought they were worth. At first I was
mortified. The people on our street must think we don’t have food to eat
if we’re sending out daughter around to sell common rocks! Then I thought
for a moment and was impressed. She managed to get people to give her
money for common rocks! Now that’s salesmanship. A few years later
there was a magazine drive at her school and the top prize was a
camcorder. We did not have a camcorder and my daughter wanted it. So
she made her older brother escort her through our small town and knocked on
every door. She set a record and sold even to parents who had their own
children trying to sell magazines! One day she just came home with a
camcorder box and handed it to me. “Tell me when you figure out how to
work it”, she said as she started her homework. I was astounded.
When girl scouts came along, she was always the leader of the troop in cookie
sales. It was good for her but a lot of work for my wife and me.
Then her little sister was old enough to join Brownies. The older sister
took her around to help her sell cookies. By year two, the oldest daughter
would just wait by the road and the younger one would go door to door. My
younger daughter sold better than her sister! If there was a house that
never bought cookies, she would convince them to order from her. She even
had a saying, “I can get a box of Thin Mints out of anyone!” The funny
part was that it was true! She would come back from that house with one
box of Thin Mints checked off. Every parent wants the best for their
children. We dream of them being doctors or lawyers or engineers but we
never hope for them to be salesmen. They are still too young to say
what the future holds but I have never seen such natural sales ability in my
life. Maybe they should just stand on a corner and sell copies of my book.
Lol. Can you imagine the power they will have over their boyfriends one
day? That’s not even fair. Even so, I could not be more proud.
asking for money to buy some candy. I told her to think of a way to earn
some money and then she could buy her own candy. It was an obvious ploy to
get her to clean up or help in some way around the house. Nothing seemed
to come of it and so I let the matter go. Then we were grocery shopping a
few days later and she started putting candy bars in the cart. I stopped
her and told her she had not asked and we were not getting them. She
responded, “You don’t have to buy them Dad. I have my own money. She
pulled out a hand full of dollar bills from her pocket that were all
crumpled. In amazement I asked from where she had acquired the
money. She said, “You told me to find a way to earn it. So I
did. I sold rocks up and down our street.” She had visited my
parents that summer and had accumulated a stockpile of stones from Lake Erie
that she thought were pretty. Then she took those stones to the neighbors
and sold them for what she thought they were worth. At first I was
mortified. The people on our street must think we don’t have food to eat
if we’re sending out daughter around to sell common rocks! Then I thought
for a moment and was impressed. She managed to get people to give her
money for common rocks! Now that’s salesmanship. A few years later
there was a magazine drive at her school and the top prize was a
camcorder. We did not have a camcorder and my daughter wanted it. So
she made her older brother escort her through our small town and knocked on
every door. She set a record and sold even to parents who had their own
children trying to sell magazines! One day she just came home with a
camcorder box and handed it to me. “Tell me when you figure out how to
work it”, she said as she started her homework. I was astounded.
When girl scouts came along, she was always the leader of the troop in cookie
sales. It was good for her but a lot of work for my wife and me.
Then her little sister was old enough to join Brownies. The older sister
took her around to help her sell cookies. By year two, the oldest daughter
would just wait by the road and the younger one would go door to door. My
younger daughter sold better than her sister! If there was a house that
never bought cookies, she would convince them to order from her. She even
had a saying, “I can get a box of Thin Mints out of anyone!” The funny
part was that it was true! She would come back from that house with one
box of Thin Mints checked off. Every parent wants the best for their
children. We dream of them being doctors or lawyers or engineers but we
never hope for them to be salesmen. They are still too young to say
what the future holds but I have never seen such natural sales ability in my
life. Maybe they should just stand on a corner and sell copies of my book.
Lol. Can you imagine the power they will have over their boyfriends one
day? That’s not even fair. Even so, I could not be more proud.
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