I walked down the hallway and there at the front door of my office was Jeri. She was dressed for casual conversation with a business dress and flats. She was smiling pleasantly and sincerely.
She said, “Hi Reena” as I walked toward my office. She did not have an appointment. I had lots of paperwork and ordering to finish.
I said “Good morning”. I didn’t know her name. But, she seemed familiar. I had seen her before. She wasn’t a vendor nor a customer. Who was she again? I thought to myself.
She said “I’m with and spouted out the insurance company she was with. She shuffled the papers in her hand. She handed me a brochure. She said, “I wanted to leave this with you. I know you said a few months ago when I was here (she called my agent by name) hadn’t told you about this product we offer.
He might not have saw the need, but here’s a brochure and a few things you may want to consider when you compare it to your current offering.
She had my attention. She had it for these three reasons.
1. She knew my name. 2. She recalled with complete accuracy what I had told her last time. 3. She had new information that was important to my specific situation.
She had kept notes. She made me feel like she knew me. She cared about my business. She came back and with more enthusiasm the second time around. Because she knew she had an even better shot than the first time. She had new information and stacked it with what she already knew to be even stronger.
She hasn’t earned my business yet. But, she did earn herself lunch and a job offer. Copier sales wasn’t the freedom she wanted. She liked being paid commission only and not being responsible for a salaried position and a named territory. It might seem crazy to some, but I somehow understood. She was a young mother. Her family needed her time more than her paycheck for the time being. But, you never know what the future will bring.
I may become her client someday or she may decide to sell copiers when the babies grow up.
In any event, she did the right things to get my attention, earned the right to my attention, and was much closer to a sale than all the others that have stopped by never to return with information in hand in the past 18 years.
