(Continued from page 33) So he went out and brought Bruce back in, introduced him to the salesperson, and Bruce said, “What are you guys doing?” So the buyer showed him the purchase order he had prepared, and Bruce said, “you have to be kidding.”

The sales person told me, “He beat up on me like you wouldn’t believe. My prices were too high, they’d had all kinds of problems with us, and on and on and on. I was so startled, I’m afraid I gave away the store. I did get the order, but I was lucky to get out of there with a stitch of clothing on.”

A month later, the sales person told me, he went back in just to check on things, and, the buyer needed to place another order. And so they worked up the purchase order, reached an agreement, and he was just about to sign when guess who walked by! You got it - Bruce, the director of purchasing. “And he beat me up again.”

The sales person told me, “Guess what? They are now my single most profitable customer. I could really handle their business on the phone. But I find that what works best is for me to go in there when they need something, work up the order with the buyer, and then let Bruce come in and beat me up. It works like a charm.

I go in super high, I give the buyer a little gift, I give Bruce a little more, and I end up with the most profitable sale that I make all month. They could easily pick up the phone, call my competitors, and get much better pricing than what I’m giving them. But all I have to do is moan and groan a little and act like they’re really taking me to the cleaners.

They’re happy, they think they’ve won, and I’m happy because I have a profitable sale.”