jibberjabber

The Happy Couple

Fandango12 Comments

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” Harriet said to her husband.

“What’s new?” Dick said. “You always find something to criticize me about. What petty little thing is it this time?”

“This is not some inconsequential gripe,” Harriet said. “Frankly, Dick, I think our marriage is going down the drain.

“Yeah, well you’re no prize yourself, Harriet,” Dick said, emphatically.

“Fine,” Harriet said, throwing her arms into the air in a gesture of resignation. “Then let’s go to the bedroom and screw our brains out. That’s about the only thing you’re actually good for, you know.”

Written for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (bone), Your Daily Word Prompt (inconsequential), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (drain), Ragtag Daily Prompt (prize), and Word of the Day Challenge (emphatic). There are only five words prompts today as Sue has ended her several months of giving us her Jibber Jabber word prompts for inspiration.

The End is Near

Fandango10 Comments

The end is nearIn the midst of those anxious times
He took rather draconian measures

And ordered the destruction of all books
To discourage an omnilegent population

He made the people feel uncertain
About the future of humanity

And when he preached “the end is near”
He was opening the gateway to hell

Written for these daily prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (anxious), Ragtag Daily Prompt (draconian), Word of the Day Challenge (omnilegent), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (uncertain), Jibber Jabber (end), and The Daily Spur (gateway).

Hunters and Gatherers

Fandango22 Comments

Sales Support“Some of us were born to be hunters,” Wayne said “and some were born to be gatherers, Abe. I’m a hunter and you’re a gatherer. Were it not for me, you’d starve.”

Abe, who was staring out of the window of Wayne’s office on the 44th floor of the Manattan office tower, turned around to face Wayne. “I’d starve without you?” he said. “That’s a pretty intense way of saying that without you, I’m nothing. Well aren’t you fantabulous, Wayne? Maybe you expect me to get down on one knee and kiss the ring on your extended hand.”

“Abe, I’m not saying that you don’t contribute to our success,” Wayne said. “After all, we are members of the same team, right? It’s just that I’m the salesman and you’re the sales support guy. I’m the one who goes out to beat the bushes to drive the prey our way. Once I get them here, your role is to show them our solution and get them to see its value. But were it not for me, in my role as the hunter, you’d be sitting in the office twiddling your thumbs. You get that, right?

“Well, that was quite a motivational speech, Wayne,” Abe said. “I’m ecstatic at being seen by you as your lackey. But anyway you look at it, I’m the wind beneath your wings, buddy. You bring in the prospective customers using your unbounded charisma, but once you get them here, it’s me, in my role as the subject matter expert, who really closes the deal. Without my knowledge and deep expertise, and my ability to show your prey, as you call them, the ways in which our solution will address their needs in an efficient and cost effective way, it would be you, my friend, who would starve.”

Wayne gave Abe an incredulous look. “Well, whatever you have to say to yourself to make you feel better about your role.”

“What I have to say to you is that you’re very good at hunting for prospective clients, but I’m the one who makes it possible to gather their business,” Abe said. “And with that said, Wayne, I quit. I wish you luck with these clients, because once they take your bait, you’re clueless about how to reel them in.”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (hunter), The Daily Spur (window), Your Daily Word Prompt (intense), Ragtag Daily Prompt (fantabulous), Jibber Jabber (members), and Word of the Day Challenge (ecstatic).

Testing Your Mettle

Fandango8 Comments

“So how did your sales call with George Simpson go?” Ted asked Lavita. “Did that old coot hand you a check?”

“I think I covered all of the key feature of our solution,” Lavita answered, “and he was polite enough to listen attentively.”

“Hmm,” Ted said, “I think I hear a ‘but’ coming on.”

“But I’m a black woman,” Lavita said, “and I could tell from his posture and his overall demeanor that he wasn’t exactly euphoric about having someone like me trying to sell him something.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely one of those so-called ‘good old boys’ who has yet to accept gender equality, much less race equality,” Ted admitted.

“So is it just me,” Lavita said, “or did you set me up for failure by sending me in to pitch our solution to someone like George Simpson?”

“Lavita,” Ted said, “it’s a big, bad world out there and some of our clients and prospect are not exactly the most enlightened people. But I think you have the potential to be an excellent salesperson, so throwing you to the wolves like old George is a way for you to test your mettle, to see what you’re made of. If you can successfully sell to the likes of George Simpson, you can sell to anyone. I suggest you get on the phone, find out what specific obstacles or objections he has and figure out a way to overcome them. Can you do that, Lavita?”

“You’re damn right I can,” Lavita said, trying to sound much more confident than she actually felt.

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (covered), Jibber Jabber (listen), Ragtag Daily Prompt (posture), Word of the Day Challenge (euphoric), Your Daily Word Prompt (equality), The Daily Spur (pitch).

The Users’ Group Meeting

Fandango17 Comments

“So are you ready to give your big presentation at the users’ group meeting next week?” Darlene asked Alan, her team leader.

“You betcha, Darlene,” Alan said enthusiastically. “I’ve practiced my speech a dozen times. Do you think you’ll be able to demonstrate the latest version of our app and won’t run into that glitch we were having a few weeks ago?”

“I’ve been trouble shooting the demo all week, especially focusing on the issue, and so far so good,” Darlene said.

“How about giving me a sample of what you’ll be demoing?” Alan asked.

Darlene connected her laptop to the overhead projector and opened up the app. She started demonstrating all of the latest features and enhancements on the large screen.

“That’s stupendous, Darlene,” Alan said. “I have no doubt that our users will be universally thrilled when we rollout our new WordPress Block Editor next week!”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (speech), Your Daily Word Prompt (demonstrate) Ragtag Daily Prompt (glitch), Jibber Jabber (especially), The Daily Spur (sample), and WOTD of the Day Challenge (stupendous).