22 ~ North Shore News — THROUGH: various career permutations, beginning when I was a teenager, I’ve taken a few, and even taught a few sales courses. Operating under the assumption that good sales people are trained, not simply born that way, many compa- nies develop claborate sys- tems to teach their newest employces how to sell. Waste of money, I think. They should just hire a bunch of y oeruthos vkshop. f 5 Tas, toy 30-Jeaa 27 Wednesday, April 19, 2000 teenagers. You see, sales requires cer- tain techniques, all of which culrninate in the answer “ves.” First, 2 sales person pretends to be interested in your needs, asking you a series of questions to get you to commit to a real need on your part. Then, a sales per- son will offer you a product or service that will meet that need. If you resist, they will reinforce, persistently, how this product or service meets your need. Many more questions will be asked, al! which have an obvious yes answer, leading you down the path of eternal yesness until the contact is out and the payment plan for this product or service is so effortless, or such a bargain, that you simply must get it now, while this once-in-a-life- time sale is on. What can you say? “Yes.” Sale closed. Now observe a master at _ the technique. A teen comes home from school. “Hey Mom, want me to pick up a ries for you?” (Identifying needs.) “No honey, that’: 's OK, I don’t need an i today.” “It’s no problem, Mom, I'd be happy to pop over. (Offering a service she might need, even if she doesn’t know it yet.) Wasn't beef on sale today and don’t those cheese biscuit coupons expire by 5 p.m. tonight? Do you ‘want me to get the car washed while I’m out? “CanI popinto . Grandma’s to say hello on the way to get those cheese _ biscuits?” (Persistent questions all deserving a yes answer.) “Well, I suppose if you're T going to do al! those things you could probably geta few things for me while you're out.” “Happy v0, Mom. Say, I. Laurell Barker Jenny Gait Geoff Gibbons ~ Yvonne Mkskimming Kim Kuzma PARENTING Teens are tops in sales talix could even fill the car with gas if you gave me some money. You don’t want to jump into the car over the next few days and have to rush over to the gas stadon.” (Making the price sound like a bargain.) “Great idea, honey. Here's 20 dollars. Put 15 dollars worth of gas in the tank and buy yourself a milk- shake or something.” (Sale closed!) Sonny leaves, 20 doflars in hand and heads down the street. The windows are all opened, and the radio is cranked up. He fills the tank with $10 worth of gas and gets a free car wash, picks up his buddy at home and spends the next two hours cruising town, using up about $12 worth of gas. He flies by Grandma’s house, leaning on the horn ard one block before getting home, drops in to the grocery store where the beef is sold out but there’s a couple of boxes of stale-dated cheese crackers. He buys the crackers, opens one box to cat on the way home and throws the other to his budu,. They pull iato the driveway just as mom is coming out the door. “I was getting worried,” ~ she says. (He senses her need for comfort.) “It’s OK, mom. Buddy here has been havfhg some girl problenis so I picked him up to make him feel better. That’s the right thing to do for a friend, isn’t it Mom?” (Her son is so compas- sionate she thinks, just what she always wanted — need met.) “Of course, honey, you can never abandon your friends.” “Look, Mom,” he says in an aside to her, “he’s still a lite choked up but he’s kind of embarrassed about it, so I thought I'd give hima quick lift to his mom’s place. He only lives 30 minutes from here. i called her to let her know he was kind of down and she invited us for dinner, but if you don’t want me to go, that’s OK.” (Leading question to yes response.) “Of course you can go,” mom says, almost distraught over the charity of her son. “The gas is going to run down a litde low again, going across town mom, bur FH put some in with my own money. You want some pre- nium to clean up those spark plugs?” (Bargain price! } “Don’t be silly. Here's another $20 and regular is just fine.” (Sale closed!) As mom goes into the house, misty-eyed, a master salesman and his buddy head out for a burger and to check out the girls at the local drive-in restaurant. No fancy sales course. No week away for intensive workshops. No hyped up motivational speeches. Just good old teenage wile. [fit could be bottled, I know a whole group of people under the age of 18 I could get to sell it. — Graham Hookey is the author of Parenting Is A Team Sport. ghookey@yahoo.com | { Bear necessities VANCOUVER Grizziles star B clementary school recently “Nanive JEWELLERY: EASTER EVENTS Easter at the Park: Easter egg hunt at Park and Tilford Gardens. Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Open to the first 300 children, 12 years and under, accompanied by a adult. Great Bowen Bunny Hunt: Games, crafts and egg hunts! Saturday, April 22, 10:30 a.m.-noon, at the community school. $6 for children ages 2- 12 years. Special pre-school program for 1-3-ycar-olds. Pre-register: 604-947-2216. Me. Easter Saappy’s Excitement: Egg hunts and crafts on Saturday, April 22, at the Gator Pit in Park Royal South. First hunt for children 5 and under starts at 9 a.m. The second hunt tor children 5 and over starts at 10 a.m. Info: 925-0707. Easter Bunny hosts an egg bunt: Sunday, April 23, noon, at Grouse Mt. Lots of goodies for the kids, with complimen- tary snowshoes available for the more = adventurous. Registration is required. Call Guest Services at 980-9311. Easter Egg Hunt: Annual Howe Sound Lions Club annual egg hunt at John Lawson Park. Sunday, April 23, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Lots of easter eggs for the kids. Music by the West Van Pops Band. Vineyard Christian Church Easter Party: Sunday, April 23, 11 a.m., Waterfront Park. Games, crafts, easter egg hunt for the kids, plus music, per- sonal stories, a message — “Jesus is for everyone!” and a free pancake breakfast. Info: 984-3204. 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