January 10, 2018
As last we left it….
The Late 1980’s. Boston, Mass, USA, nearly 15 years before Manny Being Manny and 30 before Donald being Donald. Nearly three decades prior to a whole generation of well compensated, state and property tax paying, charitable, high tech sales people discover that a “lower tax rate” without deductions ain’t no tax cut.
Already behind schedule and moving quickly towards Dane’s office, the salesman hears more arguing” 2.5M” screams a voice in a heavy Dutch accent,” 2M “Dane barks back. The salesman slowly approaches the doorway, standing before him at the whiteboard is the towering 6’8” Genius creator of the firm’s supposedly killer app. Sitting confidently at the round table to his right is Dane Bradford, Best Damn VP of Sales on the Planet. Sales Master, Builder and Commander, Agitator, Skeptic, Prognosticator, Critic, Aggressor, Mentor, and Supporter. Creator of the “Just Suppose”, “Meatball”, and “Iron Lung”, close techniques as well as the “Rope a Dope”, “Withdraw” “Yabba Dabba Doo” and “Blame ur Boss” engagement management methodologies (more on all these later). A high-powered room to be sure. The two are squared up, and it looks like the salesman’s about to be thrown into the fray!
Nervously, the salesman takes a deep breath. Despite nearly 5 years of solid sales success, including 3 Presidents Club trips with prior employers, the salesman is confident but apprehensive. More Joel from Risky Business than Gecko from Wall Street. Maybe not such a terrible thing, given Gecko goes to jail. The salesman’s professional life flashes before his eyes as he readies himself for what’s coming .
The salesman stands pensively. The genius ignores him, sporting an icy glare in Dane’s direction. Dane meanwhile, kicks confidently back in his chair, tossing a baseball up and down one handed as he reacts calmly to the genius’s forecast inquiries. Think Kyrie at the top of the circle, best handles in the game, total control, directing traffic. Dane deftly responds to the inquires with detailed firsthand knowledge of critical deals while referring to his all-encompassing whiteboard. All the while making a poignant case for a 2M dollar forecast. No deployment of a yet to be invented GLOBAL CRM SYSTEM necessary. “Sid-down” offers Best Damn to the salesman as he points to an open chair parked at the round conference table, “we were just talking about the final year end numbers”. The salesman remains standing, knowing full well his engagement with the genius will most likely require his full attention- while standing.
“Hi Lars, great to meet you”, offers the salesman, extending the customary hand and readying for a controlled firm shake. “WHY??, barks the genius back, almost immediately, ignoring the outstretched hand, “WHY IS IT NICE TO MEET ME?” The salesman is caught off guard. Why is it nice to meet me? The salesman thinks to himself – hmmm, hadn’t really expected that response, bustin my chops already, OK, here goes. “Well, you’re the man who made this all possible”, replies the salesman, heeding his colleague’s advice to “keep it brief”. The genius looks at the salesman with a puzzled look. His face reddens as he looks away, takes 2 paces towards the window, removes his glasses, wipes them, rubs his eyes, blinks a few times, scratches the back of his neck, winces. He is processing EVERYTHING the salesman said, evaluating every possible meaning of every syllable, word and combination of words like some sort of super computer. This is it, thinks the salesman, this is going to be ugly, this is a total mismatch. This is Genius Lars vs Typical Sales Guy. This is Nipmuc (MA) vs IMG Academy (FL). This is one of the mostbrilliant PHD computer soaked minds on the planet vs an “Exit 11a OFF THE MASS PIKE” Regional High School grad in an all-out “tete to tete “war. Finally, a glance toward the salesman, eye contact, the glasses go back on, the color returns to the face, the head slowly begins to nod, the blinking subsides, and a smile begins to emerge. “Yes”, the genius says slowly, “Yes, this is true” as he breaks into a broad smile and increasingly hearty laugh. “This is very, very true”. Dane, who had been watching with proverbial baited breath (think Kyrie watching Marcus Smart launching a deep 3), also starts to laugh- cautiously. “Good Answer”, says Best Damn, somewhat relieved his “mentee” performed on the spot, “looks like your starting to pick up on things around here.’ “Let me finish up with Lars and I’ll come down and see you. Class starts at 8:30, right? “Yep, got a few questions on those leads from last night” says the salesman. And with that, dodging a major bullet and passing an important “first test” with the genius, the salesman heads back to his office.
Interested in what happens next or need additional context to this story? Please like this article, repost, and visit WWW. AMSADVISE.COM and visit our Blog “What Have You Sold Today?” published 11/14/17 and 12/15/17. Contact Paul@AMSADVISE.com
