Life as a Traveling Advertising Salesman
Dad learned the habit of giving small, inexpensive, but meaningful, gifts to clients.
He sent hundreds of cards every year for all occasions: birthdays, anniversaries, thank you’s, holidays. The cards were divided into two categories: traditional and “adults-only.” There were special situations where Dad would send multiple cards within a day or two – sometimes as many as two dozen.
He found different and interesting ways to make presentations. In the fall of 1964, he arranged a presentation over lunch. There were sandwiches and soft drinks, and there was a television so everyone could watch the World Series game between the Cardinals and Yankees. During the commercials each half-inning, Dad did a portion of his flip-chart presentation. It was entertaining and successful.
It was not unusual for him to take his clients to a nearby public park and make a presentation over a picnic lunch of fried chicken, or to have a barbecue lunch brought in, complete with red-and-white checkered table cloth and napkins.
Not all of the ideas worked out so well.
One Halloween he had a business dinner at the home of a client and his wife. Dad thought he would get into character for the holiday so he bought a big, scary mask to wear. When he got to the house, he put the mask on, grabbed the candy, popcorn, and briefcase, and headed toward the front door. The mask did not fit well and Dad could not see clearly out of it, which caused him to run into a four-foot-tall cactus. He got out of the cactus, continued to the door and rang the doorbell. His host and hostess both let out screams when they opened the door. Dad was wearing a white dress shirt, which now had his blood all over it. It took two hours to pull all of the thorns and get Dad patched up.
He sent hundreds of cards every year for all occasions: birthdays, anniversaries, thank you’s, holidays. The cards were divided into two categories: traditional and “adults-only.” There were special situations where Dad would send multiple cards within a day or two – sometimes as many as two dozen.
He found different and interesting ways to make presentations. In the fall of 1964, he arranged a presentation over lunch. There were sandwiches and soft drinks, and there was a television so everyone could watch the World Series game between the Cardinals and Yankees. During the commercials each half-inning, Dad did a portion of his flip-chart presentation. It was entertaining and successful.
It was not unusual for him to take his clients to a nearby public park and make a presentation over a picnic lunch of fried chicken, or to have a barbecue lunch brought in, complete with red-and-white checkered table cloth and napkins.
Not all of the ideas worked out so well.
One Halloween he had a business dinner at the home of a client and his wife. Dad thought he would get into character for the holiday so he bought a big, scary mask to wear. When he got to the house, he put the mask on, grabbed the candy, popcorn, and briefcase, and headed toward the front door. The mask did not fit well and Dad could not see clearly out of it, which caused him to run into a four-foot-tall cactus. He got out of the cactus, continued to the door and rang the doorbell. His host and hostess both let out screams when they opened the door. Dad was wearing a white dress shirt, which now had his blood all over it. It took two hours to pull all of the thorns and get Dad patched up.