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.