Do you take the Opportunity?
Yesterday I was on “Cloud 9” as the saying goes. While I do not miss my corporate selling days, once in a while I greatly enjoy the excitement of doing something slightly risky that reminds me of those previous days. Two opportunities came my way after my dismay of having missed the ferry going into the City.
I drove in to meet a business acquaintance turned friend for lunch (it’s all about building relationships!) With a half hour to wait, I realized a television company was nearby. I followed an employee into the lobby and promptly befriended the receptionist. Next thing I knew, I had the name of the producer for the news shows and the postcards for my book were being personally delivered to her.
On my way to the restaurant, I noticed a well-dressed gentleman stepping out of a known news entity. My inner voice said “Go for it!” I politely stopped the gentleman, introduced myself and within less than a minute explained why I was approaching him. Public relations people will tell you that you need to tie in your service or product into the day’s news to get attention.
I held up the postcard of my book HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews. He was interested. I explained my mission to help people get back to work more quickly and give a percentage back to medical research so that more people win from my effort. I then apologized from keeping him from where he was going.
The gentleman smiled acknowledging he was glad I did just that. It turned out he is the Director of Sales and was very impressed by my taking the opportunity to speak and with my approach. He said he would take a very serious look at the book!
Reporting back to friends, one said, “You did what? How could you?” I could because I know as an entrepreneur you must take calculated risk. The worst that could happen would be one of those persons telling me “not now”. The upside was far greater. When you are willing to put yourself forth and communicate well, others will take you seriously that you are an expert in your field. They pay attention. This is another technique for business development.
I am looking forward additional Smooth Sale(s)!
