Today I had an appointment with a mother and daughter for a Demo at Panera Bread. I sat at a table in the back away from the main dining area for more privacy and larger tables. During our demo the table in front of me was vacant and an old man took the table and sat with his back to me. As I was demoing he would occasionally look over his shoulder at us and of course my first thought was he must be interested. I continued talking with the ladies and I saw him stand to leave and he was looking at me. I looked up and smiled.
“You need to get an office” the old man said.
“Well, isn’t it great with today’s technology that we can make our office just about anywhere,” I said back.
“I didn’t come out to eat and pay for food to hear you blabber the whole time,” he said to me.
“I’m so sorry I was bothering you,” I responded.
“No you’re not!” he said in an unkind voice.
For a second I was not sure how to respond but I knew that I didn’t need to meet unkindness with unkindness. “I’m so sorry you feel that way but I sure hope you have a wonderful day,” were the words I spoke to him. He grumbled under his breath as he walked away. One of the ladies I was meeting with said, “Well, we are thankful she is here and we like listening to her,” to the old man’s retreating back.
I touched her hand and thanked her for trying to defend me. This was a woman I just met and she felt the need to protect me and I was touched.
We continued the demo and in the end I got 1 Club client (and mom wants to join after she gets back home).
But this is only the beginning….I was packing up when the gentleman sitting behind me saw my bag and mentioned that his wife just signed up with HM. He was there with a female friend and we started talking about life and then they asked me for my card. I gave them both one of my flyers and the man said, “Too bad my wife already signed up with someone else.” I thanked him. But then to my left I heard “I want one too.”
I turned and a lady had been listening and she wanted my card and contact information too. I then spoke with her for a bit about the business.
Finally, I was packed up to leave and I felt compelled to go out the farthest door from my car. As I exited the door I ran into a friend I haven’t seen for a while and she invited me to join her for lunch with her family and friends. At lunch I didn’t bring up my business because this was a friend that wanted nothing to do with it so I chose to leave it alone. During the conversation she brought up what I do to her family and friends and told me to pull out a book and show them. And that is exactly what I did.
At the end of a few hours I had eight HM conversations and two new club members. And I think it was because I refused to let the negativity affect me. I wonder if I would have taken what the man said personally and let it get me down if I would have attracted these people. I have always had to bring up the conversation but I had people asking me….they wanted to know more.
I feel so blessed for being put in this situation. These are the situations that test us and makes up better human beings.
On the drive home I was happy about my day but a part of me felt sad for the old man. I wondered why he was so negative. Was he sad because he was all alone? Did someone in his life just pass away? Did he feel loved? I would love to meet him again and have an opportunity to wonder about him and break down his wall of hurt.
