Salesmen and "Schnorrers"

"Schnorrer" is one of those Yiddish perjoratives that has been welcomed into the English language because it has no precise English analogue. A schnorrer is a begger, but not necessarily one who begs out of poverty. The schnorrer is a moocher. He takes without giving back, out of a sense of entitlement and a lot of chutzpah (another Yiddish word that defies precise English definition -- you know it when you see it).

The current issue of FORTUNE magazine celebrates the humble salesman. It is full of advice for making and closing sales, such as this one by a sales psychologist who describes sales slip-ups. The recurring refrain is that successful selling depends on getting inside the potential customer's head -- feeling his pain, knowing his needs, irritating him as little as possible (while staying within his radar), and giving him something extra whenever feasible. This last piece of advice seems counter to the entire idea of schnorring.

Yet my dad's recent blog post , in which he describes a schnorrer of his aquaintance -- an itinerant fund raiser for Jewish causes -- shows that this particular schnorrer had mastered the empathy essential to successful sales:

I remember him calling on my father and he or his predecessor probably called on
my grandfather so as soon as I finished my phone call or the paperwork in front
of me I would reach into my desk for a checkbook.

One year instead of
reaching for the check book I turned to him and said, "I am sorry. We have had a
really lousy year I'd like to skip the donation this year."

He fixed his
gaze on me and responded, "So you had a lousy year. How did it feel?"

Well it was depressing and I had to tell the family to cut back on extra
expenses.

"So why would you do that to me?"

He left with a
generous check