I was given all the pertinent contact information for a mutual friend, Steve at S and L Mobile Mechanics, just in case my car ever found itself in some trouble. I'm paranoid about being stranded on the side of the road after having it happen a few times driving across Texas while in school. When a car breaks down on the side of the road, it's a mess because you have to pay a towing company in addition to getting work done to get your car running again. Not a fun situation.

I know several people who have used S and L Mobile Mechanics and it's always good to have a reliable repair company in your phone for such a situation, especially if you find yourself in the Fort Worth area. Since they are based in Euless, they can cover both Dallas and Fort Worth, but prefer to stick mostly on the west side of the mid cities.

Anyway, I ended up needing Steve's help when I was over at the Fort Worth Stockyards this past weekend for an event. Turns out, my timing belt had snapped and I needed a new one. Steve was a lifesaver because not only did he show up in a flash, but he had all the parts and was able to get me back on the road without having to call a tow truck. If that's not good service, I don't know what is. These guys are definitely a company to add to your rolodex just in case you ever find yourself stranded on the side of the road with a forlorn look on your face.

In "The Wolf of Wall Street", we see two scenes involving the standard "sell me this pen" question that often comes up in job interviews for sales positions. In the first scene, at a diner, the answer is a matter of creating scarcity. "Write your name on a sheet of paper - oh you don't have a pen? Here you go." is assumed to be the correct answer from one of Belfort's cohorts.

At the end of the movie, we see a sales conference in New Zealand where Belfort goes around the room asking newbie/aspiring sales professionals the same question. "Sell me this pen."

Of course, no one in the crowd gets it right. They ramble on nervously about how great the pen is, how you can write upside down, etc. So what exactly is the correct way to answer this open-ended question if it comes up in your next job interview?

First, this question IS too open-ended. You can't sell a pen (or anything) unless you ask questions. If an interviewer asks you to sell him this pen, the correct answer would be something like:

"First, I have no idea the context in which you are asking me this. How long have you been in the market for a pen? What type of pen do you typically use? Etc." 

You need to be asking questions to qualify. Otherwise you may be selling something to someone who doesn't need it. This IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE. No matter what. Any interviewer with half a brain will understand this. If they don't, you're probably interviewing at the wrong company. Without understanding the context, it's impossible to sell anything.

Yes, it's an open-ended question. So ask questions of your own to figure out if the hypothetical buyer (the interviewer) even needs the pen. And what he looks for in a pen. And how often he uses a pen. It's that simple. Sales is about asking questions.