One of the most daunting tasks ever invented is the concept of selling anything by going door to door through a neighborhood.
If anyone wishes to discover their potential as a salesman, or the lack of it, pushing products by ringing doorbells will quickly determine how thick a skin you are wearing.
Many people get their first taste of how intimidating this form of sales can be at a very young age.
Often, the test comes in the form of trying to sell candy or magazines for some form of school function.
During his high school years, Gary decided to make an attempt to sell some candy bars to support his school, but he did not want to use a conventional approach, as he had already tried and failed to rouse interest.
He figured he needed an angle to boost his potential for success, so he applied his powers of observation to the task.
Gary had discovered that most people found it difficult to resist the persuasive power of small children, and that many would find a dollar somewhere to help a youngster, particularly if the child was innocent and cute.
To this end, Gary decided his five year old brother would fit the bill.
Executing his plan, Gary took his brother Jim around the neighborhood to see how many sales he could get.
The approach was simple.
At each house, Gary would hand Jim a candy bar from the box, and send him to the front door to ring the doorbell.
When the resident came to the door, Jim held the candy bar up over his head with a smile and said in a loud voice, "Candy, one dollar please.
"The reaction was almost invariably the same, as each person smiled back at the little guy, fetched a dollar, patted him on the head, took their candy bar, thanked Jim for stopping by, and closed the door.
Seeing how well his plan worked, Gary figured that selling his three dozen candy bars was going to be a cinch.
At one particular house, Jim reached up high to ring the doorbell, but no one answered the door.
Shifting the candy bar around in his hands, Jim tried the doorbell a second time, but still no answer.
Gary called out from the sidewalk for Jim to open the screen door and knock on the door, as this was the first house where no one had answered the door.
Jim followed Gary's instructions, knocking on the door with his little hand.
When nobody came to the door, Jim grew impatient and slipped the candy bar into the mail slot as Gary looked on in horror.
When Jim ran back to Gary, he said, "I guess they aren't home.
" Gary corrected Jim's action, "You don't just give them the candy bar; you have to get the money first.
" Before Gary could think, Jim went bounding back to the door, opened the screen, then opened the front door to the house and went inside, as Gary called out to him from the sidewalk.
Once inside the house, Jim looked on the floor behind the door to retrieve his lost goods.
As the startled resident rounded a corner to see who was coming into their home, they spotted Jim and asked, "Hey!What are you doing there?" Jim stood up and looked back at the man, then said in a matter of fact tone, "I had to come back and get my damn candy bar.
"Jim then opened the door and left the house.
No sale.
I could use a salesman like Jim.