One of the best lines I ever heard in a movie came from "Princess Bride" when the Dread Pirate Robert tells Honeybuns (or whatever her name was): "Life is pain and if anyone tries to tell you different, he's selling something." There is so much truth and wisdom in that short line that I still marvel over it!

Selling has got to be one, if not THE hardest jobes to do. You have to be part pachytderm because most folks feel the way you all feel: annoyed, bothered or outright angry. You have to be therapist or at least chameleon in order to identify with your intended victim, er mark, uh! PROSPECT! That's it, PROSPECT! You have to deal with rejection on a personal level as well as the rejection of whatever the product you are pushing. You have to deal with the stress from above to perform consistently and successfully. You have to be a psychologist to create or enhance the "need" for the product. You also need to be quick to counter the counter-arguements, should they arise.

There are many more aspects to being a salesman but at the core, the salesman represents free enterprize in its purest form. It is law of the jungle, the hunter-gatherer. If you are successful you eat that night (or week, as the case may be) or if not, it may be kibble and bits. Toughest job there is.

Fortunately I'm in a rather secluded local and only have to deal with an ocassional JW or Mormon. I have several techniques that I use with these folks, depending on how much time I have. If I'm real short on time (or patience) I just tell them that I have a case number from the Sheriff's Department (which I do!) and if they aren't gone in ten seconds I'm putting in the call. That usually holds them for three or four years until a new batch comes around.