| I knew the first time I met him that he was just out to | | | | with him, but I could see right through his act and could |
| get my business. After all he was a salesman. That's | | | | follow his every move. |
| what his card said, that's what his job was, and that's | | | | Then the day came that I ordered something that the |
| what he did for a living. | | | | local store didn't have in stock but needed quickly. It |
| I don't trust salesmen, and I bet a lot of the people who | | | | wasn't a big order and Steve was on commission, but |
| read this don't either. | | | | he drove a couple of hours to get to another store, |
| It's not surprising, I guess. There are a lot of | | | | pick up the order, and then drove back and delivered it |
| salespeople in the world who will do or say almost | | | | personally. He probably didn't make any commission on |
| anything to get a sale, and a lot of times the things | | | | that order. |
| they say are lies or half truths, and the things they do | | | | A few days later, I placed another order. This one was |
| are deceptive and deceiving. Just like a lot of other | | | | a little bigger, so he had more at stake. As it turned out, |
| things in life, it only takes getting burned a couple of | | | | his firm had discontinued those items but he bought |
| times to make you distrust all of their ilk. (C'mon, who | | | | them from another company in the area and sold |
| uses "ilk" anymore?) | | | | them to us...at cost. |
| I was a federal purchasing agent, so it was MY job to | | | | The day finally came when I had been trying to track |
| deal with salespeople, and I got to see a lot of the bad | | | | down something for one of our departments but was |
| ones. I got to see a lot of junk passed off as quality | | | | unable to come up with a supplier or even a |
| goods, and sometimes I had help clean up the mess or | | | | manufacturer. I didn't even have anything other than a |
| deal with the aftermath. This wasn't the first time, | | | | description of what I was looking for. I don't remember |
| either. I had been a business manager for a mental | | | | anything about the item, but I DO remember Steve. |
| health facility in northwest Florida, an accountant for | | | | When I had totally exhausted all my resources, I picked |
| the Florida State Department of Education in | | | | up the phone and called Steve. He had never heard of |
| Tallahassee, and a fiscal consultant/accountant | | | | this sort of thing either! I was up against a wall. |
| purchasing agent/comptroller in a regional office of a | | | | The next day, the phone rang. It was Steve. He had |
| federally funded education program. I had been taken | | | | spent hours calling contacts and suppliers all over the |
| on a few rides and, like I said, I don't trust salesmen. I | | | | country with only a description of what I was looking |
| had gotten to see enough of them in action. | | | | for. He had come up with a manufacturer and a |
| Over the years, I had begun to stereotype people in | | | | supplier, and he gave me the addresses and phone |
| sales. When they walked in the door, the first thing I | | | | numbers. |
| thought was, "Uh-oh. Wonder what he/she's going to | | | | In network and internet marketing, it is often said that |
| try to push off on me this time?" I had my defenses | | | | one of the first things you need to do is establish a |
| up and it showed. If a sales person gave me a | | | | bond of trust between yourself and the customer. It |
| compliment or made a joke, I figured they were just | | | | works in a lot of places, this "bond of trust" thing. |
| trying their tricks to get inside my defenses, so I just | | | | I will never know if Steve did the things he did because |
| hardened that wall, didn't give them any more time than | | | | he was a good guy, or liked me, or had made a |
| I had to, and then forgot about them. | | | | promise to his dying mother. Maybe he did what he did |
| Then along came Steve. | | | | because he was a salesman and that's how he knew |
| He was the major rep assigned to our account by a | | | | to make sales. |
| local office supply and equipment firm. We did a lot of | | | | Well, it worked. He made sales. It didn't take long for |
| business with them, so there was no way to avoid | | | | me to start slipping business to Steve whenever I |
| dealing with him. He was smooth, but pleasant, and it | | | | could. I trusted and respected him, and I owed him. |
| was difficult, but I managed to keep the wall up. | | | | After all, wasn't he the one who taught me that not all |
| I couldn't understand why the other purchasing agents | | | | salespeople are just out to get my business? |
| were always calling him and placing orders with him. I | | | | You know something? Maybe that's not the only thing I |
| could see what he was doing. He worming his way | | | | learned. |
| into their confidence so that they would place orders | | | | |