Greatest Compliment I’ve Ever Received
This happened last week… March 16th, 2025
This post is a little different. Normally, I am sharing an entry I wrote in my prayer journal a few years ago, reflecting and talking about the lessons I learned as I surrendered to God and navigated the greatest trial in my entrepreneurial career.
Today, however, I want to share something that happened to me just a week ago on March 16th, 2025.
I saw an older gentleman and his friend out front of the dealership looking at used scooters. I walked out, introduced myself, and proceeded to answer their questions about the scooters. They asked to pull several of them out to sit on them and get the feel for them. I obliged.
If I am being honest (and I always will be), I had already made the assumption that the probability of getting a sale was pretty low. My salesman instincts told me that these guys were likely “tire kickers,” those that come in, absorb a lot of your time, obtain a lot of information, but then never really purchases anything. And frankly, their appearance didn’t inspire confidence in their buying power.
Though I still treat everyone with the same care and kindness, while in conversation, I often wonder whether the time invested is going to lead to a scooter sale.
I spent over an hour with these two guys. As the only salesman on the floor that day, let alone being the owner of the business, I was getting anxious to get on to my long to-do list. However, I kept my patience and continued to talk, answer questions, and serve them the best I could.
Soon after, the gentlemen were preparing to make their way to the exit. That’s when one of them turned to me and proceeded to give me the greatest compliment I have ever received…
“You’re a Christian, aren’t you?”
I smiled and told him, “Yes sir, I am.”
“I could tell,” he said.
He then thanked me for my helpfulness and patience. I thanked them for visiting. Then, they left.
As a Christian, this was so powerful to me. I was elated because I was honored that someone saw Jesus in me.
As followers of Jesus, this is the goal. We want people to see Him in us, but we fail so often. We fail so often that it usually has the opposite effect and pushes people away from the Christian faith.
While I had just received the greatest compliment of my life, I was also convicted. The Lord will do that, won’t He? I had a moment of instant reflection and repentance about some of the assumptions I had made.
And to drive the point home (lol), the Lord brought them back an hour or so later. The “tire kickers” bought a scooter. 🛵
If you are a Christian in sales and ever find yourself wondering “am I wasting my time?”, press in to the conversation.
I’ve gotten much better at this over the years and even though the salesman in me might signal “tire kicker” and I may not get a scooter sale out of the visit, the Holy Spirit often signals that someone is in need — in need of help, of kindness, of a friend. Don’t miss that. Press in.
The Lord will do incredible Kingdom work through those conversations…
…and you still might get the sale.
Matthew 5:16 NIV “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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