Spare Me!

I had that sinking feeling. The young woman sitting across from me at the coffee shop had just pulled out a brochure and was starting to give me her sales pitch. The thought that ran through my head was, "Why don't they teach this in college?"



"This" is how to act in an appointment where you are meeting someone for the first time.

"This" is the appointment where you are supposed to get to know the other person.

"This" is not the time for selling.

My dilemma was that since this young woman didn't receive the above training in college (or obviously from her sales manager) how could I gracefully let her save face?

I learned a technique from my friend Karen Kiemnec, The Journey facilitator. Karen is a very gentle soul. I always gain so much from her when we talk. She shared that when that happens to her, that she immediately says, "How about if we take some time to get to know each other first."

So I used that line. And it worked. The rate of the appointment slowed. We both relaxed. We both found out things we had in common and some that we didn't. When I put my notes about this young woman into my data base, I was surprised at how much I did get to know her during our short time together. I also was able to help her in a couple ways that were other than purchasing from her.

What do you do when you are caught in this awkward situation?