From the moment he walked thru the door, I, and everyone else in attendance found ourselves caught in the whirlwind that was Bill Clinton. There was something about him that simply drew you in. I wanted to figure out exactly why he had such an affect on people; so I closely watched his every move. From the way he walked to the way that he looked and talked to people. Almost immediately, the answers to my questions began to surface.

He walked with a confident and knowing disposition. Unlike many other politicians who when campaigning, seem to be in a race to shake the most hands and get thru the crowd as quickly as possible, Bill Clinton stopped and talked to each person as if they were the reason why he came to the event. As he shook each person’s hand, he smiled and connected with them thru listening and finding something in common.

The first time he came up to me, he quickly glanced at my name tag (I only noticed because I was still studying him) and then said, “Ja Marr, thanks for coming. Where are you from?” “San Diego,” I responded. “Great city, people from San Diego tend to be very friendly and relaxed like yourself.” “I really like your suit (he and I were wearing the same colored suit). Let’s take a picture, he said.” There was a professional photographer walking around and as we were taking the picture, he asked me, what college I attended. I told him “Whittier College.” “Some great leaders have come out of Whittier College,” he said; and we spent the next minute or so discussing some of the famous and infamous Whittier Alums; from former President Richard Nixon to, Rhoads Scholar Stan Sanders. As he was walking away, he said, “It was great to meet you Ja Marr.”

I continued to study him as he walked thru the crowd some more. He never waivered from his initial disposition. He gave a 30 minute talk on everything from political issues such as the current presidential race, healthcare, the economy, national security and global issues that affect the US. People hung on his every word. I found myself equally drawn in. Then I became present once again and asked myself, “why is this man having such and affect on people?” The answer was surprisingly simple. First of all, he practically knew each person in attendance due to the way he connected with them from the moment he walked thru the door. Second, as he was speaking, not once did it feel as if he was speaking in a tone that suggested that he was President Clinton and we were not. It honestly felt as if we were having a conversation at a casual dinner. He was doing all of the talking but it felt like we were having a conversation.

After his talk, he walked around some more and ended up right in front of me again. Before I could get a word out he said, “Ja Marr, are you enjoying yourself? I was stunned by the fact that he called me by name. Did he remember it, or did he look at my nametag again? To this day, I don’t know. I said, “Great talk and it was a pleasure meeting you.” Then he said, ‘thank-you. Let’s take another picture.” As we were taking the second picture he said to make sure that I continue to support Whittier College, and he hopes to see me as one of the great leaders that come from that institution.

After he walked around a few more minutes, the secrete service stepped in and whisked him away because he was late for another event. There was a distinct difference in the vibe of the crowd after he left. People were socializing, laughing, exchanging business cards and talking about how great it was to meet Bill Clinton. That was a contrast to the vibe of the crowd before he walked in. Yes, guests were friendly and socialized some, but Bill Clinton made acquaintances and strangers, fell like old friends.

After I met some more people and exchanged a few more business cards, I decided it was time to leave. I was shocked by the scene that awaited me outside. I thought that I had figured out Bill Clinton’s formula during the event, but what I saw outside, after the event was over really gave me clarity. Outside of the home of where the event had taken place, a crowed of curious neighbors had gathered across the street. At first, I signed it off as just a few curious on-lookers; but then something really significant caught my attention.

In the middle of all of the crowed of neighbors and curious on-lookers was…Bill Clinton. He had the same disposition as he had during the event. He smiled, shook hands, looked people in the eye and seemed to talk to each person individually. All of this as the secrete service stood by. I could not help but think to myself, “the 30 guests in attendance each paid $1,000.00 to attend; and here was Bill Clinton treating people that did not attend the event, and paid zero dollars, the same way as those that paid $1000.00! To me, that was the most impressive thing that Bill Clinton did that evening. It reminded me of the age old adage, Treat everyone equally.

As sales people, we often treat our customers and their office staffs differently based on our idea as to how valuable or important each person is based on their title or decision making ability. We often think that it is a waste of time “connecting” with individuals that do not write the checks, or the prescriptions (for those in the pharmaceutical arena). But you must remember, you never know who someone really is or just how important they are or will be one day. Today’s front office secretary could be tomorrow’s office manager. The lady at the front desk could be the physician’s wife. Think about this, the neighbors outside had no expectation that Bill Clinton would take the time to talk to them. They were not invited to the event and did not pay any money to spend time with him. However, they found themselves getting the same treatment that those of us who paid $1,000.00 did. How special did that make them feel! What if you were in their shoes? How would you feel? Regardless of what they felt about Bill Clinton prior to that evening, I promise you that they developed a new respect and fondness towards him.

If you are someone that strives for success in sales and wants to be a perennial top performer, I encourage you to apply the lessons that Bill Clinton taught me about sales.

“Excuse me,” I said to the stewardess. “I would like to order the California Salad.” With a look of dismay and frustration she said, “I need to find out if we still have any salads left.” And with that, she stomped down the aisle way toward the back of the plane. Sure, the beverage cart had come by about 15 minutes earlier, but I was on a cross country flight and had fallen asleep during the initial cart service. The stewardess’ did however give me a menu which means that you don’t have to order exactly at the time they first come by. We still had 3 hours left in the air!

10 minutes later, I am still in my seat waiting for my salad. Curious about the status of my request, I flagged down another stewardess who happened to be passing by and politely told her that I had ordered a salad about ten minutes ago and wanted to check on the status of it. The only word she uttered to me was, “ok,” and then she went to the back of the plane…the same direction the first stewardess had gone. I remained calm thinking that my salad would be there any second. My stomach started to growl with anticipation and I was getting hungrier by the minute; just imagining that wonderful salad I was about to eat.

12 minutes goes by and still no salad! What is going on? I thought to myself. All I want is a salad. Either they have it or they don’t. I decided to ring the call button; but just as I was reaching up to push it, I heard the voice of a stewardess asking if people wanted coffee. My first thought was…they had all this time to make coffee, but can’t bring me a pre-made salad. At this point, I am beyond famished, and starting to get really upset. But as I normally do, I try and look at the bright side and turn a bad situation into a learning experience. What did I learn? Avoid flying on this airline.

A few minutes later, the stewardess that was passing out coffee, reached my seat and asked me if I wanted coffee. This was the second stewardess that I had flagged down earlier to ask about the status of my salad. It was almost as if she did not recognize me. I asked her again, “I ordered a salad nearly 30 minutes ago. Do you know where it is.? All she said was, “let me check.” And once she was out of coffee, she went back to the back of the plane. A couple of minutes later, she came up to me and said, “Sir, its coming.” Why she did not have it, I don’t know, but nevertheless, I almost jumped for joy with the idea of just eating this salad.

5 minutes later. I decided to look towards the back of the plane. I wish I had not done that, because what I saw nearly made me jump out the window. I saw the original stewardess I had ordered the California salad from, walking down the aisle with a snack tray in her hand, asking the passengers if they wanted cookies, or peanuts. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. It hurt, so I was not. She finally made her way to me. She asked me if I wanted cookies or peanuts. I looked around to see if I was on candid camera of MTVs Punked, but when Ashton Kucher did not come out, I knew this was reality.

I must have really mentally checked out for a second, because she asked me again, “Sir, do you want peanuts or cookies?” I said, “No, but I would like my California salad.” Then in a very nonchalant fashion she said, “OH, let me get it for you.” And with that, she went to the back of the plane. At that point, I said forget it, and decided to just go to sleep. I was awakened by a tap on my shoulder and a voice saying, “Sir, it will be $8.00.” as she placed the California salad on my lap. I gave her the money and she just walked away without uttering another word.

All I could think to myself as I ravaged thru my California salad was that this would never have happened on Southwest Airlines!

concert ticket

On July 24^th, my wife and I attended a Lionel Richie concert. Lionel Richie is my all time favorite performer, singer, and songwriter. There is something about his music that truly touches my spirit. One of my life long ambitions was to see him in concert. I guess you could say that it was on my bucket list. One month prior to the concert, I was driving to the airport and noticed a billboard promoting the concert. Since I did not have time to call and buy the tickets myself, I immediately called my brother and asked him to purchase the two best seats he could buy.

For the next few weeks, I was filled with excitement and anticipation for the concert. I would play Lionel Richie songs all day, whether I was in my car or at my house. Songs like, “Sail on, Stuck on you, Three times a Lady, Hello ect”, would play in my head constantly. I could not wait for the night of the concert. However, underlying all of my excitement was one concern. Often times, artists, use concerts as a way to promote their new albums. Would Lionel do the same? Sure his new music is good, but I fell in love with his old music. That is what I wanted to hear; and that is what I paid top dollar to experience.

Concert night! The crowd was abuzz with excitement. Drinks were flowing, people were socializing, and the mood was set. The announcer spoke up and went thru Lionel’s musical achievements which read like a curriculum vitae of a Nobel Prize winner. Then he said the words that everyone wanted to hear, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lionel Richie.” The cheers were deafening. So much so that it was hard to hear the song he was singing. It sounded good but a bit unfamiliar. As the noise from the crowd subsided, the song he was singing was loud and clear. Unfortunately, it was not, “Sail On, or Hello or any of the songs I came to hear. It was one of his newer songs. Uh Oh, I thought to myself, my biggest fear is being realized, he is going to sing all of his new songs and promote his latest album. I did not pay to hear this! I sunk in my chair and mentally prepared myself to accept what was happening. I tried to psych myself out by saying that even though he is not going to sing my favorite songs; at least I can say that I saw Lionel Richie in concert. But who was I kidding, I was truly disappointed.

After he sang his first song, he walked to the edge of the stage, shook hands with people that were lucky enough to get front row seats and said the following, “I can tell that this crowd did not come to hear me sing my new music. You guys want to hear my old school music…when I was with the Commodores. You want to hear my greatest hits don’t you? I probably yelled “YES” louder than anyone in the building. “Alright,” he said, “tonight we are going to sing every single one of my greatest hits.”

The concert was absolutely amazing! He sounded just as good as he does on CDs. He was personable and even signed autographs during the show. Because I literally sang every song, it took my voice two days to recover from being so hoarse. I could not have asked for a better evening.

As salespeople, we are constantly taught the importance of uncovering needs. But often times we either tell our customers what we think they want to hear, which is truly what we think is important or we ignore them when we find out what their needs are. Could Lionel Richie have given a good performance singing his newest music? Yes. Would I have enjoyed the concert? Somewhat. But, by understanding what the people truly wanted and then giving them what they wanted, he has thousands of people saying that that was one of the best nights of their lives as opposed to it was just ok or how disappointing the performance was. The moral of the story is that if you uncover the needs of your customers and then fulfill those needs, you will have people saying how impactful you are vs. just being ok or missing the mark completely.

“What do you mean you can’t find my bag,” I said with obvious frustration coming from my voice.  Due to a meeting that ran late in Arizona, I missed my flight to Oakland and found myself standing at the baggage counter.  “Sir, our policy is that when a bag misses a flight, it is put on the next flight; so your bag should be here in an hour.”  “An hour,” I said, but I am already running late for dinner with one of my customers.  Sir, I’m sorry, but there is nothing we can do about it, you will just have to wait like everyone else,” the agent said with a sarcastic tone.  Those were the last words I wanted to hear as Oakland was the 3rd city I had traveled to in three days.  I wanted so bad to just go to the customer dinner, eat as quickly as possible and then get to my room for some much needed rest.

“I still can’t find my bag,” was what I told the same agent that had helped me the first time.  The first flight after mine had come in and still no bag.  “Sir, hopefully your bag will be on the next flight which should arrive in about an hour.  Or, we can deliver it after 10:00 AM tomorrow.”  Neither option was reasonable.  I had an 8:00AM meeting the next morning, so delivering my bag after 10:00 AM simply would not work.  Secondly, at that point, I had missed the dinner with the customer as the whole missing my original flight and missing bag ordeal had already made me 2 hours late.  I said, “Can you please work with me?  Can we have someone deliver my bag tonight?  I need my clothes and business materials for my 8:00 AM appt.  I don’t care what time tonight you deliver them as long as I get them by 7:00 AM tomorrow morning.”  “Sir, you can either wait for your bag which will hopefully be on the next fight or we can deliver it after 10:00 AM tomorrow.”

In utter frustration, I said, “Please get me your manager.”  He said, “Sir, it won’t make a difference, I have already told you your options.”  “I understand that, I said, but can you please get me your manager.”  “OK, he said, but it will not make a difference.”  And with that, he pranced off through a door behind the counter.  About 10 minutes later, he came walking out with a lady that I assumed to be his manager.  I prepared myself for the scene that was about to go down, because it was so predictable.  I knew that he had already told her that he explained their policies to me and that I was being unreasonable.  In other words, “Boss, I have already done my job.”

Just as I suspected, she said, “Sir, John has already explained your situation to me.  I understand your situation, but you only have two options at this point; wait for the next flight or have us deliver your bags after 10:00 AM tomorrow.  That is the best we can do.”  The only thing that kept me from blowing up was the fact that she had a pleasant demeanor about her.  There was no sarcasm in her voice, unlike the original agent that helped me.  Controlling my emotions, I said, “With all due respect, you do not understand my situation.”  Yes, I did miss my original flight which was my fault.  However, my bag should have been on the next flight which it was not.  I missed a very important dinner with a customer of mine as a result.  In addition, if my bag is not on the next flight, I don’t know what I am going to do because my meeting materials, clothes and everything else I need is in my bag.  It is already 10:30 PM and there are no stores open for me to buy clothes for tomorrow.  In addition, my meeting starts before any stores open tomorrow so I will not be able to buy clothes in the morning.  On top of all that, I forgot my cell phone charger at home so my battery is dead.  Because of that, I was not able to call my customer and tell him that I would not be able to meet him for dinner; so he thinks that I stood him up.  I am beyond tired because I have been traveling every week and this is my third city this week.  I was hoping to get in, have dinner and get some much needed sleep tonight.  Instead, here I am at the airport at 10:30 at night waiting for my bag to arrive.  Do you still think you understand my situation?”  What transpired next completely surprised me.

She said, “Mr. Brown, thank-you for telling me your full story.  If I were in your shoes, I would be feeling the same way that you do right now.  I am so sorry that we have been so focused on what we can’t do as opposed to what we can do for you. I am supposed to get off work in 15 minutes, but I will stay until the last two flights come in…and when you bag arrives, I will personally deliver them to your hotel since our baggage courier may not be available.  I want you to go to your hotel and get some rest for your meeting tomorrow morning.  I will personally take care of your bags.”  Then she gave me a travel voucher for my inconvenience and even offered to call my client the next morning and explain that it was Southwest’s fault that I missed the dinner.”  I looked her straight in the eye and said, “Thank-you for listening to me and understanding my situation.  I know that my options are limited, but it just feels good to know that you are working with me on solutions as opposed to what you can’t do.”  We both decided to wait for the next flight to come in and then make a decision on exactly how my bag would get to my hotel if it were no on that flight.

Over the next 30 minutes as I waited for that flight, she kept communicating with me.  Instead of going back to her office, she spent the majority of her time talking to me; continuing to offer her support and assistance.  In addition, we engaged in a discussion about the work that I do and our families and backgrounds.  Then she excused herself to make a phone call.  Five minutes later, she was back standing next to me.  She said that she had to call her husband and kids to let them know that she was going to be late.  Understanding her situation, I said, “If you need to go home to be with your family, I can just wait for my bags.”  She replied, “Mr. Brown, I appreciate that but, it is not just my job but my pleasure to help customers.  I am committed to helping you and enjoy doing so.  So I am not going to rest until we resolve your issue.”

The next flight came in and we were very happy to find out that my bag was on that flight.  It was kind of weird but she actually gave me a hug and was genuinely as happy as I was to see my bags on the carousel.  As I was in the taxi cab driving to my hotel, I thought about my experience that evening.  First, I was reminded of all of the good experiences I have had with Southwest airlines and secondly, it reminded me of our role as sales and service professionals.  At the end of the day, we all react to and form our perspectives and mindsets based on the experiences that we have and not so much the products we use.  We use certain products because of the emotional experience and feelings they give us.  For example, I can fly any airline that I want, but I tend to go with SW airlines because the vast majority of my experiences have been positive.  When I think of SW airlines, my emotions are positive and because we all want to avoid pain and seek pleasure- I go with the option that I feel will be the most pleasurable and least painful.

This is no different for your customers, clients and prospects.  Remember, they all have numerous choices as to where and who they buy from.  The difference comes down to whom they have had or feel they will have the best experience with.  Sell the experience your customer will have with you!  You want them, just as I am doing, to rave about the interaction they had with you…and they will keep coming back to you and tell others about!