Day 46: Something Completely Different

Here's how sales works.

Instead of complaining about the tremendous amount of fail in project undisclosed project project, something completely different.

Sales is about establishing, building, and maintaining relationships.




A few days ago, I got a call from a good friend of mine from college. He was in a lower batch. From the same hometown studying in the big city. He ended up running in the same crowd that I did so I made it part of my personal mission to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid while away from home.

I consider my group of friends from college pretty tight and he's an integral part of that group.

Hell, I wrote and recorded an entire album for them as a Christmas present. His song was track 11.

He told me that his parents were interested in an investment in a condo or two. So I asked when they would like to head over to the showroom.

He told me that they wanted me over for breakfast the next day, to which I gladly obliged.

The breakfast went really well.

"My son here convinced me to take you as our broker," the dad said.

Sales is about establishing, building, and maintaining relationships.

I did my presentation, talked them through some of the available financing schemes, and gave them an overview of the available discounts that I can give. They seemed really interested and requested for sample computations.

At the end of it, I got them to validate a little piece of paper saying that I would be the person to handle the sale, should they decide to purchase from us.

After the presentation, I went to the office and started preparing sample computations to send over. When that was done, I printed them out and personally made the delivery to their house, leaving them with their son.

Sales is about establishing, building, and maintaining relationships.

On my way home, I got a call from the other team leader telling me that the account should belong to their team. One of them did, after all, entertain the family as walk in clients the day before. They also signed the little form noting the other team's service, thus acknowledging that they should be the rightful recipients of the sale.

Because of a little piece of paper signed a day before, the other team is telling me to back off from making the sale to the family of a guy I spent a good number of years of my life taking care of.

If this were any other client, I would have let it pass but I've invested too much of myself in my friendship with their son to even consider not giving them the best goddamed service and buying experience that I can offer.

Sales is about establishing, building, and maintaining relationships.

If the company rules that in sales, a little piece of paper trumps years of friendship, here's my resignation.