<i>Never oversell</i><p>This is a delicate art. Suggest-selling can enrich the customer's experience. My mother ran a bookstore and I didn't like doing sales and suggesting additional books. I was never pressed to, but I noticed that other employees could suggest an appropriate related book without pushing the sale.<p>It wasn't often that the customer would take it, but because it was appropriately related, they wouldn't lose out on the experience, and if they did like it, it was higly positive and a win-win situation. A skilled salesperson is interesting to observe.
This list of the world's oldest companies may also be of interest:<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies</a><p>Remarkable to see companies that have lasted more than 1,000 years! And sad to see that Kongo Gumi - a Japanese construction compnay - shut down in 2006, after being founded in 578 CE.