Sales Talk

He told us to show some discipline,

get to the office before everyone else,

take care of your business and map out

where you are going to go and then

hit the streets, see your clients

even if it's just to say hello.

Make contact after contact after contact,

find out what they're looking for

and tell them what you have to offer.

Eat lunch somewhere with someone,

Keep selling as you try to take down

another bite of your sandwich.

Then hit the road again, your afternoon

having the same cadence as your morning.

Us young salesmen sat and listened

as he continued on with story after story,

anecdote after anecdote,

and name after name, 
rattling them off

without missing a beat. 

The two of us tried to take in

as much as we could but the day

was creeping almost into dinnertime.

We would’ve been there forever if

the production people didn’t remind us

they were locking up for the night.

Our sales head wanted to continue

spinning tales and making points

out in the parking lot but I felt

this was the time to speak up.

I pointed to the gates being locked up

as a cue to call it a day, that we

need to wrap up and come back

tomorrow.  He finally agreed,

told us to go home to our families

and come back in the morning,

ready to get on the road.