Maybe it’s just the marketer in me, but I do love to watch a great salesperson in action. It’s about as much fun to watch good salesmanship in progress as it is to ogle bronzed and sculpted Beach Bunnies (of either sex) while doodling in the sand beneath a multi-colored umbrella.

And it’s almost as rare.

Walk into any store these days, you’re as likely to encounter clerks of the vacant-stare variety as you are the preponderance of corpulent beach blobs that now over-populate our sandy shores. Both have squeezed out the better views of late, haven’t they?

But every once in a while, a ray of sunshine comes along to make you smile…case in point—our local STAPLES^® store.

Our little town on the edge of the Maryland border with Delaware has two strikes against it when it comes to making sales: 1.) a small, rural population, and 2.) proximity to a sales-tax-free state. But what our little STAPLES^® lacks in inventory and sales volume, was more than matched last week by one clerk’s natural marketing savvy. I’ll call him Tom.

Daughter #2 needed a computer, and we stopped into the local store for a look-see, not really intending to spend any money. What first caught my attention about Tom was that he read our body language and held back from approaching us at first, but being an observant fellow, gleaned a few nuggets from our conversation.

I’ll be the first to admit that my 21-year-old daughter’s pockets have holes in them—and not small ones, but gaping, ragged things the size of DeMoines. I’m not sure if Tom just overheard our whispered entreaties in #2’s ear for frugality, or if he observed us trying to drag her away from the biggest, shiniest, most expensive computer in the shop, but he grasped the gist of our situation immediately, and came to the rescue.

“You really don’t want that one,” Tom whispered to her, as she stared with hunger at the top-of-the-line whiz-bang, touch-screen model. “It’s got some problems you won’t want to deal with later—and we have a much better deal right over here…you’re looking for maximum memory capacity, right?” 

And he gently led her away from the glistening giga-whoozy to a much more reliable (and cheaper) model, discussing its advantages and high points in non-salesy, unthreatening tones, and asking her a barrage of salient questions.

He was charming, tailoring the conversation to her needs, and before long had her enthusiastic about the less expensive (by half) machine (Yes! There is a God!).

But this guy also knew how to read wants and desires—not just practicality, and was oh-so-observant of her straying eyes, which kept meandering back to the glossy, big screen.

“Tell you what…I can get this model with a 22-inch flat screen that has the same resolution as the big one, and still be within this one’s sale price,” he tempted. “Here, let’s take a look…”

I could tell from the way she responded to him that he hit all the right buttons, and before long he had her set up with anti-virus software and an extended warranty—even helped her get a STAPLES^® credit card so she could purchase it today (Urgency, anyone?). All for just a tiny bit more than she was prepared to spend that day. He even opened up a closed register so we wouldn’t have to wait in line—carefully explained all her benefits (again)—and even helped us out the door with the purchase. We felt extra, EXTRA special.

I had to smile. David Ogilvy’s “Buckets of Charm” description fit Tom to a “T.” In fact, #2 felt so well after we got home with her treasure that she wanted to call up the store manager immediately and try to get Tom a raise.

All-in-all, I would say that that trip to STAPLES^® was right up there with a good day at the beach…for me, observing a consummate salesman in action is almost as much fun as boardwalk fries and sand between the toes.

But then again, I’m a marketing nerd and it’s the middle of winter—there aren’t many Beach Bunnies in Maryland this time of year.