Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Sales

I was reading Dawn's post about sales, and I think we're in the same boat. My dad is also in sales (if you're in the market for a used car...), and he's also good at it. This lot is his very own and he's getting good word of mouth, which is remarkable for a car lot, given the reputation, too often deserved. (Once Brandon and I bought a car, and one of the guys went into a spiel about how we could take out a loan and invest the cash we were going to spend on the car in a CD. "Do you know how I know this?" he asked us. "Because you're the F&I guy?" Brandon asked him.)

Anyhoo, I didn't get the gene. I was standing around last Friday with a bunch of mothers I didn't know. My neighbor Julie mentioned Brain, Child. Another mother said, "What's Brain, Child? Should I know about this?"

I just shrugged. I couldn't read her. Was there a trace of snarkiness there? Or actual curiosity? Or just neutral chit chat? Someone good at sales might have at least described the magazine instead of turning into a three year old who takes everything literally. I don't know you, I thought. I don't know if you should know about Brain, Child or not.

The correct answer is: Of course she should. She should also know about PPIEW. I couldn't be the one to tell her, though, because I haven't yet figured out a way to drop it into conversation without fully morphing into a self-aggrandizing asshole. I'm already loud and ruddy. I already deliver a mighty firm handshake. What I'm saying is: There's not a lot of room to play around here.

I'm happy, though, to promote other things. Recently I've been liking:

--One Story. Do you know this publication? You get a little booklet with one short story every two weeks.

--Embryo Culture. I interviewed the author, Beth Kohl, for a piece in Salon (not sure when it'll be up). Kohl wrote about her struggle with both infertility and the moral questions that fertility treatment raises. It's both witty and well-researched.

--Blueberry tea. A person can't drink beer all of the time.

--Anything by Kristin Kovacic. We ran an essay by her in the Summer 07 B,C, and I've reread it many a time.

--Jezebel. I killed a whole weekend afternoon watching their Lady Bunch clips.

--Starr Hill Jomo. A person can drink beer some of the time.

--Winner of the National Book Award. I believe I've gushed about Jincy Willett's Jenny and the Jaws of Life? This is her novel.

--The first Rentals CD. I played the hell out of it when I was but a lass, but I recently dusted it off. Good-bye, Virginia--WHOO HOO!--with your lousy style! Oh, it makes slapping together some BLTs go much faster.

5 comments:

Dawn said...

I suck at sales but I'm aces at marketing. If you need any marketing know-how (she says with her father's gleam in her eye), lemme know. And for you, the friend rate (i.e., free)! ;) <--nice internet wink, not snarky salesman wink!!

Anonymous said...

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Jennifer said...

Dawn, I might just come calling, picking your brain! Thanks so much!

Karen, I'm out of copies, but your book sounds fab--I'll look for it next time I'm haunting the bookstore.

Unknown said...

Oh, my. If Brain Child was mine, I'd be screaming it at the top of my lungs.

Then again, I've never been the most tactful person in the world...

Jennifer said...

Anjali! Welcome back to the Internet! Hope the move went well.