Last Gasp
by John Passmore
“This is for you, just in case…”
The woman behind the counter in the petrol station looked at the DVD as if it was contagious.
“It’s about making money,” I offered. “Are you interested in making money?”
“No.”
So there I was at half past nine at night with somebody who wouldn’t take my last DVD – and more to the point, who said they weren’t interest in making money.
I know I shouldn’t have said this but it was getting late, I had stopped at the petrol station to do my last 30 second presentations and shift the final DVD and so I suppose I was at a low ebb. What I said was: “If you’re not interested in making money, what are you doing standing behind that counter?”
“Some 0f us have to work for a living,” is what she said.
So I left it on the counter and walked out. It seemed a better bet than getting into an argument – but I don’t know if I can hold my head up and say I gave out three today.
The thing is, before I started writing this blog, I would never have pulled into a petrol station when I didn’t need petrol and bought a bottle of Lucozade I wasn’t going to drink just so I could give away a 20p DVD and spend 60 seconds promoting a £200 business.
Never mind, it wasn’t like that all day. I started off with the ideal prospect. I can hardly believe this but I’ve found an IFA who also runs a plumbing business. Not surprisingly he wants to know more.
Then I rang the small ads department of the local paper to advertise the puppies* and the telesales executive would like to know more.
Then, being Friday, it was into Ipswich for the clarinet lesson and a young man giving out vouchers for Dominos Pizzas is now looking at a better way of getting a piece of the pie. There was also someone in the uniform of something I’d never heard of the “Street Rangers” who listened politely but decided it was not for him.
And that was when the rot set in. Oh, I made my calls from my list (I even made an appointment) but as for talking to six new people, I was still two down.
So it wasn’t until well into the evening, driving back from Southwold, that I started getting desperate. I pulled into a Little Chef and gave a DVD to a man in the car park. But he didn’t want to take 30 seconds to heard what it was about. I took one look and shied away from everyone in the restaurant.
Next I pulled into a garage five miles further on. It seemed deserted. I pulled out again.
And I must say, I very nearly drove straight home. But the thought of you reading this made me stop once more at a second petrol station on the Eastbound side. A man getting into his car listened politely and decided it wasn’t for him. Never mind, I told myself, it all counts towards the total.
Inside I found a bloke scrubbing away at his scratch card with almost comical concentration.
“D’you want to take a bet you can’t lose, ” I asked him.
Now he’s got the details and I’ve got his phone number. The trouble is that by “details”, I mean the Independence. It turned out his DVD player was up the creek – so I still had one disc left.
I suppose it’s not surprising that I was getting a little impatient. The first person I offered it to thought it was about Scrabble and gave it back – and since the woman behind the counter had witnessed this, it was hardly surprising she didn’t want it either (people can often behave like sheep).
So we had this silly conversation about working for a living and then I shut up shop for the day.
The question is, do I care?
Not if I get another five distributors and fifteen customers tomorrow – which is what I got today.
What do you suppose the woman behind the petrol counter gets?
*If you’re looking for puppies see a href=”http://www.johnpassmore.uwclub.net/puppies/”http://www.johnpassmore.uwclub.net/puppies//a – but wait until it’s up and running on Sunday
You need to get people to pay you for the CD. Ever heard of a guy named Mike Dillard? He has a product called quot;Magnetic Sponsoringquot; and it will completely transform the way you find prosepcts. Good luck to you.
What a joy to read John, I really hope everyone in your team takes this seriously as you know i do! I told my bank manager today about this business again for the seventh month in a row, incidentaly, he was my second customer and then pointed him to your blog! I will get him one day!
I tried selling the DVDs at 50p each. People thought I was promoting some kind of cult. Personally I don#39;t expect much from just giving them away. I do it because that#39;s what they tell me to do and I might as well give them out as leave them in the drawer.br /I find the only thing that works is talking to people… but I also find that offering someone a DVD is a great way to start a conversation.