“So, how’d you get into tools?” he always asks.

“They recruited me! I actually hadn’t ever used a drill before getting this job, isn’t that funny?” I say insensitively. Here is a guy who has worked in the trade for his whole entire life and who never got the opportunity to drink his fake stress away at college. Then I redirect the conversation back to the sale and pray he doesn’t hit on me. He probably smells like cigarettes.

I get the “How did I get into tools?” question several times a day. Being a marginally attractive female in a hardware store, it’s unavoidable. I don’t mind answering, and I do so honestly. In sales, though, it’s always better to be the question asker than the askee. The asker has the power, the asker controls the situation, and the asker typically gets what they want.