"Times are hard - Business is slow.
Give the sod a withering look, stop speaking, then ask him to explain the situation further, why are times hard, why is business slow, what on earth is he on about, if you want to speak about hard times, how come its not affecting the Koreans, the Chinese, the Japs, the Eskimos, he'll laugh at this one, then you have him, the only hard time hes gonna have is getting rid off you.
Explain about why Mr Ellersby of Great Western ordered another three of these machines, why, because they paid his rent, allowed him to fire his brother-in-law, and he squirrelled some more money away to buy that condiminium he purchased in Florida, doesn't he know Mr Ellersby was struggling until he went over to your new line, the HUMDIGGER, now he's got a fleet of 23. That 23 machines earning him money, earning him money when he should be in bed [ laugh] just keep stringing him along, until the fish bites.