We've had a standing offer of $20,000 for the past year for any salesperson who can qualify as a "mind reader" and can infallibly judge the buying potential of a stranger coming onto the selling floor. Obviously, no one has ever claimed the prize, for no one, however skilled they may be, can ever tell what a known customer will buy on any given day. I learned that lesson early in my career when I staged an exhibition of etchings and lithographs priced from $100 to $5,000. Late one afternoon, a little old lady in shabby clothes, carrying a paper sack instead of a handbag, came in and looked around. She didn't look like a potential buyer, but having nothing else to do, I explained the various media represented in the show and told her a little about the artists who had made the prints. After I was through, she glanced about and said, "I'll take that one," pointing to a Rembrandt etching. While my mouth was still open she reached into her sack and pulled out a roll of bills, peeled off fifty $100 notes, and handed them to me. From then on, I knew I wasn't a mind reader and I was convinced that appearances were not infallible bits of evidence of a person's capacity or willingness to buy anything. I preach constantly to our salespeople, "As long as the customer is alive, you have a prospect." Many of the customers who come into our store are able and willing to buy much more than they actually do. They are susceptible to something new, something beautiful, and they are grateful when they are given the opportunity to see things they've never dreamed about. I have an antipathy towards "hard selling" and always discourage its practice, but I firmly believe in "intensive showing," so that the customer becomes aware of the great variety of things we have to offer.