Steve touches on something that most good salesmen already know: you never know where your next order is coming from.
I've seen companies bet the farm one one prospect only to have them go somewhere else 6 months into the pipeline. At the same time they ignored anyone who didn't fit their perfect prospect profile.
Failures to understand this have become legend. The Mercedes dealer who ignored the millionaire in flip flops who left the showroom and bought a BMW. The fraternity brothers who ignored the old man on their porch until he got up and left his fortune to charity. The software entrepreneur who didn't take the call from IBM (for whatever reason), so IBM went to Microsoft instead.
And the solution is so easy: treat everyone how you'd like to be treated until they give you reason otherwise. The best people I ever knew (family, friends, business associates) all made me feel special. Come to think of it, they made everyone feel special. No coincidence they were also the most successful people I knew.
I've seen companies bet the farm one one prospect only to have them go somewhere else 6 months into the pipeline. At the same time they ignored anyone who didn't fit their perfect prospect profile.
Failures to understand this have become legend. The Mercedes dealer who ignored the millionaire in flip flops who left the showroom and bought a BMW. The fraternity brothers who ignored the old man on their porch until he got up and left his fortune to charity. The software entrepreneur who didn't take the call from IBM (for whatever reason), so IBM went to Microsoft instead.
And the solution is so easy: treat everyone how you'd like to be treated until they give you reason otherwise. The best people I ever knew (family, friends, business associates) all made me feel special. Come to think of it, they made everyone feel special. No coincidence they were also the most successful people I knew.