Last week I was in Portland, Oregon for a working vacation. I attended a wedding reception and put on a full day catering seminar downtown.

Today I feel like one of those senior citizen’s you see interviewed on ABC’s 20/20 talking about how they got scammed.

Who are you supporting in the Presidential election? Are you a Trump fan or die hard Hillary supporter?

There was a phrase shared with me years ago that I love to use, “The fortune’s in the follow up.” This line is so simple, yet powerful.

I am going to throw PC, political correctness, out the window and just say it, “Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!” Not Hanukah. Not Kwanza. Not Festivus for the rest of us. Yes. All of these other holidays are just fine and dandy. Look. I’m Jewish. I make a mean potato latke, but let’s face it...Christmas rocks!

Since I was a little kid, this raised Orthodox Jewish kid has loved Christmas.  No. We did not have a Christmas tree, but I soaked up and enjoyed the holiday. My earliest Christmas memory was me at age four going through the enchanted forest in the basement of the downtown Goldsmith’s department store in Memphis and seeing Santa Claus. One year my mom even sprang for breakfast with Saint Nick. The memories were far better than the stale donut and watered down hot chocolate they gave us.

Sampling is one of the most powerful sales and marketing tactics in your arsenal. I used it as often as I could.