Everyone within earshot turned and looked at me and then at my feet...

Well, actually, they were looking at my ankles.

I consider my trusty self to be a fairly astute shopper so last week I went to the discount shoe place to get some new workout shoes, I'm thinking it is no problem.

But just two miles on the treadmill in my new sneaks, I get a little pain in my right foot. The next day, more pain. Day three, more pain and Vicki says maybe my new shoes are causing a problem and maybe I should see an "expert."

So off to Run Away Shoes we go... yes, they sell shoes to runners. And I'm looking around and it looks like they carry the same brands as the discount place.

Then I meet Cal. He is the salesperson and clearly, he is a runner. String bean skinny.

"Looking for some shoes" he says... great opening line in a shoe store!

"Yeah" I said, "Price aside, how do you know which ones are the best?"

Cal says, "Take off your shoes, roll up your jeans to the middle of your calves and then walk away from me and then walk back. I need to watch your ankles."

I did as instructed, walked away and as I started to walk back, Cal blurts out "Everyone would love to have your ankles!" That's when everyone in the store turned and looked at me... and my feet!

I guess, thanks to Mom and Dad, that my ankles don't move one way or the other and so he fit me with sneakers for people that have stable ankles... if that is the right term.

The next morning, back on the treadmill, zero pain. Day 2, zero pain. Day 3, I'd forgotten about it.

The point, you ask?

I didn't really think of Cal as a salesperson but rather as someone who knew runners shoes and knew how to fit me... even though I am not a runner. I wasted $100 at the discount place because I didn't know what I needed.

Getting the right kind of help can sometimes mean all the difference between making a good purchase or a bad one.

If you ever need help finding the right item to help boost your brand, I'm confident that our team can help you like Cal helped me. We've been at this a long time so we have a lot of highly experienced staffers who know the promotional product ropes... and even our new folks spend nearly three months in training before they are left on their own to work with customers.

So the next time you need a promotional products expert, give us a call. Our experts are standing by to assist you.