No Tell, No Sell!

Tom Miller was the general manager for Mammy’s Bread in St. Catharines, Ontario, where I worked as a retail bread salesman during the summers of 1951-1958. A marketing mastermind, Tom motivated us salesmen with pep talks, personal discussions, and chalkboard sales pitches. After completing our routes and entering the room where we totaled our receipts and filled out order forms for baked goods, we would read Tom’s latest chalkboard sales slogan.
“No tell, no sell” stands out in my memory. Every Saturday Mammy’s Bread featured a special cake, and Thursday was the day to tell our customers about it and then take their orders. The following day, Tom would list the names of the salesmen with the highest number of orders. His “No tell, no sell” pitch was pithy and practical.
The current “Happy Holidays” greeting may be indicative of an increasing secularism in our culture. We may attach the blame for this secularism at the feet of public education, the media, or pluralistic thinking, but are we Christians willing to shoulder some of the blame? Have we chosen to cloister behind church walls rather than carry the gospel into the workplace and neighborhood? When we count our friends, how many non-Christians are among them? Do we share the true meaning of Christmas with those who need to hear the good news, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord” (Luke 2:11)?
No tell, no sell!