And The Award For The Best Sales Pitch By A Kid At The Front Door Goes To…

/ Ally Bean

LATE AFTERNOON ON A SUNDAY, the doorbell rang.

I answered the door to see a tall skinny kid, who probably eats 4,000 calories a day and is still hungry, standing on my stoop.

He was wearing his scout uniform with shorts, looked to be about 15, and was holding a clipboard horizontally [landscape style] in front of him.

In the metal clip on his clipboard he had put a pen so that the pen protruded toward me, allowing me easy access to the pen.  Clipped to the board itself was an official Boy Scouts of America order form.

He said nothing, but his brown eyes, made large by his glasses with farsighted-lenses, showed me that he was alert.

And clever.

# # #

OVER THE YEARS I’VE LEARNED that neighbor kids selling things will just stand there at the front door if I don’t get the conversation rolling, so I said: “hello.”

To which he said: “POPCORN.”

And that is all he said.

There was no involved introduction. There was no needless chatting. There was no coy sales banter.

There was just a kid, probably an introvert forced to sell something that he has no interest in selling, standing in front of me.

I immediately loved this kid and his direct sales approach, so guess what I did?

I said: “ok.”  And grabbed the pen and clipboard so that I could order popcorn.

Lots of it.

Because, as you my gentle readers will understand, I’m easily charmed by a no-nonsense man with knobby knees in a uniform.

# # #

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40 thoughts on “And The Award For The Best Sales Pitch By A Kid At The Front Door Goes To…”

  1. LOL, I lost $30 to some Boy Scouts selling Popcorn outside my grocery store!! Damn cute kids, “Hey Ma’am would you like to by some Popcorn?” To which I said, “You are pretty cute.” LOL. I ended up for a couple bags of popcorn that I could have bought inside the store for $1 a piece.

    Liked by 2 people

    • makingtimeforme, oh I hear ‘ya. They’re just so darned cute and determined in those uniforms that I cannot say “no.” The prices for their so-so popcorn are outrageous, but I buy it anyhow because I’m helping the Boy Scouts + there’s an entertainment factor when interacting with these kids that you can’t beat.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. I’ve thus far managed to avoid placing the scout popcorn order, but not for lack of those kids trying. They show up everywhere. Grocery store. Hardware store. Magically appear in the middle of a field where I happen to be tailgating. Everywhere! They truly take that whole Be Prepared motto seriously.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Allie P, you nailed it. I’d forgotten about their motto. I find them just about everywhere, too. Although I haven’t been tailgating this year, so I cannot confirm they infiltrated that arena around here… yet. Give ’em time.

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  5. You need my husband. He is resolutely Uncharmable to all Front-Door Solicitors. Even the evangelists significantly shorten their patter. I always send him to any summons from the porch.

    Liked by 1 person

    • nance, I take pity on any kid who’s been forced to walk up to our front door, selling whatever. I HATED DOING IT, so they’ve got me before they say their first word. Which usually is more along the lines of “hi!” But this kid, straight to the point… which I adored.

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  6. My husband ‘mans’ the front door and he’s a tough sell. Actually he’s a “no sell.” On the other hand I may or may not buy. I stopped buying wrapping paper and that stuff. Not a popcorn eater either. I used to buy hoagie or pizza coupons. You paid the scout for it and redeemed it at a specific food shop. No worrying about boy scouts (with questionable hand sanity) making any of the food. The thing I do enjoy are some of the Girl Scout cookies. Who could say no to a good cookie. Besides there are a very small amount in an exorbitantly priced box so you won’t even gain weight. It was nice of them to work that angle.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, I don’t really like popcorn all that much, but I say “yes.” I especially liked that this kid was so direct. Made parting with my money faster.

      I hadn’t thought of the GS cookie angle. You make an excellent point. I’ve read that depending on where you live in the US you get a different choice of cookies, and presumably size of box. No doubt they’re expensive everywhere, but how can you not buy from such cute girls?

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Now if all sales pitches could be this simple, our lives would be so much simpler. Think of all the time we’d get back at the car dealer “Car?”, or the doctor’s office “Fix?”, or buying a house “House?”. LOL, this post was awesome! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Popcorn.
    Yes, please.

    Nothing like whittling things down to the basics. 😉

    When we lived in MD, two adorable girls sold us pizza kits every year ~ decent pizza shells, sauce (alfredo was an option), cheese. Since we lived 30 minutes from a pizzeria, we enjoyed buying a box or two from them ever year.

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    • Nancy, this kid was to the point & why not? We all know what popcorn is, and whether or not we want some. He made my day.

      I’ve never had the opportunity to buy a pizza kit, but every Nov we used to buy frozen, bake yourself, coffee cakes from the GS that were delicious. Don’t know why they stopped selling them…

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  14. In our old neighborhood, there was a special needs kid who just wandered the streets at times. He always looked lost. But every now and then he’d knock on your door and try to sell you something for school. I had a doormat that read “No Soliciting…Unless You’re Selling Cookies.” One night he knocked, I answered the door, and he said, “Your mat says only to knock if I’m selling cookies and that’s what I’m selling!” Of course, I had to buy some with a sales pitch like that!!!

    Stephanie
    http://stephie5741.blogspot.com

    Liked by 1 person

    • Stephanie, that’s a hoot. Who would have thought a door mat could trap you into an unwanted purchase? I feel sorry for kids who don’t like to sell who are forced by well-meaning adults into selling things. However, there are so many good stories to come from it!

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  15. Ah, I love your introvert nature. And the stories in the comments. I live in a remote area and in a difficult to reach house. It’s been a long time since I had door-to-door scout or school sellers. I can say no to the random kid who approaches me at the post office. Not sure I could have said no to your boy.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Zazamataz, we get someone at the door about every month. Some kid is selling some thing for some reason almost constantly. I usually say “yes” because I remember how crushed I felt when someone said “no” to me, the shy little introvert with thick glasses.

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  16. Some people in my neighborhood used to take advantage of introverted schoolkids who were forced to sell very tasty candy bars for school fundraisers. “I’ll take four! No, don’t worry, I’ll pay you back later. Thanks!” I think I singlehandedly put an end to the practice of giving kids the actual goods to sell rather than the standard clipboard and order form…

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Yes, but will it make to you in time for tonight’s debate? The popcorn I have is literally the only part I’m looking forward to. And awww, this is a nice story. He’ll remember you, even after he outgrows the shorts and scouting! ~Tara

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