Well, I must say that I was less than impressed with this bizarre advice. He was
entirely too calm and that was entirely too easy to be a real solution--not to
mention that it was just plain strange. I figured he was doing a version of
"let's goof on the tourist," so I moved on to ask someone else for help.
Strangely enough, I asked two more hotel employees what to do about my injury,
and got the exact same answer: vinegar and meat tenderizer!
I reluctantly trucked down the hall to the store just knowing that they were
all back there laughing at the goofy tourist who was actually going to do a
self-imposed "meat rub" on his chest. I was sure they had some barbecue grill
going for when I returned to the lobby all slathered up with vinegar and meat
tenderizer.
I entered the small market off the lobby and started my search for
char-grilled products when I started feeling short of breath. Suddenly, very
quickly and forcefully, I began to experience a crushing weight on my chest. Was
I having a heart attack? Great! I'm having a coronary after wasting so much time
talking to members of the hotel staff, who were trying to get me to rub meat
tenderizer on my chest. I walked out of the store and staggered to the front
desk, which by now was very busy with new guests checking in to the hotel. I
made eye contact with the hotel manager and almost immediately, dropped to the
ground, clutching my chest, barely able to gasp, "Man O'War!"
What happened next was a total blur. I seem to remember a small child yelling
and pointing at me as I lay there in my bathing suit, gasping for breath.
"Look mommy, there's a man on the floor." The mother said something about
staying away from people who do drugs. I looked over and tried to say no, not
drugs--jellyfish! But all that came out was gibberish.
The paramedics rushed to the scene. Finally, I was going to get the medical
attention I needed. After determining what had happened, the paramedic opened
his lifesaving kit, and I knew he was about to pull out a defibrillator. I made
my peace with God and I braced myself for the big jolt. Instead, he pulled
out--yes, you guessed it--vinegar in a spray bottle and some Adolf 's meat
tenderizer! He then proceeded to spray the vinegar and sprinkle the meat
tenderizer on my chest, and thoroughly rub the mixture around. Within seconds,
literally seconds, the excruciating pain began to subside. Within a couple
minutes it was almost completely gone.
What I thought was a big "barbeque joke" on the tourist turned out to be a
well-known cure for some jellyfish strikes. You see, the meat tenderizer
contains the enzyme papain, which breaks down the toxin proteins and neutralizes
them. It sounds too simple to be really effective, but it is, in fact, one of
the best things to do in that situation.
Thinking back on it, I am amazed at how many people gave me the solution
before I had to learn the hard way. Sure, who's going to believe a cabana boy? I
mean, what does he know, right? And the hotel employee--OK, maybe there's the
start of a pattern here but, I have a doctoral degree--I'm "smart," and these
guys have just got to be kidding me . . . Right? And then the hotel manager as
well . . . OK, I admit it, at that point there's just no excuse. I should have
figured out these guys knew what they were talking about, and I did not.
I made one of the biggest mistakes that people in business (and especially in
sales) make--I didn't listen to the people who have experience. I assumed that I
just had to know better . . . and the truth is, I didn't know better.
There is nothing like experience. It beats education every day of the week.
The only thing better is a combination of education and experience . . . or a
willingness to learn from other people's experience. There are many basic sales
techniques that any good salesperson knows to be effective. They don't try to
look for something more complicated or involved, because they know from their
own experience, as well as the experience of others, what works in sales and
what doesn't work in sales.
You may hear things that seem too simple to be effective or ideas that you've
heard before. Never dismiss them. Embrace them. Go get that vinegar and meat
tenderizer, and learn from the masters that sometimes the simplest ideas can
have the biggest impact.
Ivan Misner is Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world's
largest business networking organization and co-author, with Don Morgan, of
Masters of Sales: Secrets From Top Sales Professionals That Will Transform You Into A World Class Salesman
(Entrepreneur Press, September 2007).
www.MastersBooks.com
