My fist pumped high in the air after I hung up the phone. By some miracle, I secured the appointment to see “Mr. Big”, the Chief Financial Officer at the old USF & G (now absorbed into Travelers Insurance); in their heyday they built the tallest building in Baltimore (still is to this day) to symbolize their financial strength and stability. I was a young, fearless rep in my mid twenties who was about to be the conductor of his own train wreck.

It didn’t take long for our Regional VP to invite himself on the appointment; we’ll call him “Mr. Brooks”. It would be an understatement to say Mr. Brooks didn’t have a reputation for his compassion. What’s more, he was nearly 30 years my senior. Simply put, he intimidated me.

As the date of the call approached, I fixated on what I was going to say and do to achieve “rock star status”. I purchased a new “money” tie, had my shoes shined and picked out the “A” suit. I stuffed my briefcase with brochures and samples and mentally ran through my script. Like most sales reps, I visualized the Caribbean cruise or the new car I’d get with the chickens I counted that hadn’t yet hatched.

8:00 AM – I was instructed to pick up Mr. Brooks at his office so we could talk about our plan on the way to the call. He skipped the small talk and jumped to a laundry list of questions, most of which, I could not answer. “Who are they currently buying from? How much do they spend a year? Do they have an in-house print shop? What are Mr. Big’s expectations for the call?”

I thought, “I don’t know.
I don’t know.
I should know”.
And finally…
“I’m an IDIOT.”

My anxiousness turned to anxiety. I thought to myself, “You just went from a rock star to a sinking rock”. I answered his questions, which now felt like an interrogation, with measured responses.

“Well I believe they buy from Moore. I think their spend is between $500,000 – $600,000.” Each answer sounded less and less convincing. I cleared my throat as my neck tightened. “I know they had an in-house print shop” thinking to myself “you schmuck – you saw a picture of some documents on a desk from 1917 in their Annual Report – that doesn’t qualify as a print shop”.

8:20 AM – As we drove up to the building, I slithered out the door and made no eye contact with Mr. Brooks, now incapable of masking my inadequacy.

We rode up the elevator to the executive level, which was adorned with wood paneled walls, leather wing-backed chairs and oil paintings sequentially depicting the lineage of past President’s that built this once mega insurance company. Mr. Big had his own waiting area outside of his corner office.

The pressure was getting to me and I felt myself crumbling. I found myself fighting off nightmarish thoughts of tossing my cookies as we waited for Mr. Big. “Don’t think that, don’t think that, la-di-da, la-di-da”.

8:35 AM – After what seemed like an eternity, I decided to open my briefcase and go through my marketing collateral.

8:36 – It was about that time that anxiety turned into disaster. The handle turned on Mr. Big’s closed door and he entered the lobby to greet us. He took several steps toward us and I noticed Mr. Brooks stand up. I quickly closed my briefcase, you know, the kind with the combination locks to securely snap it shut? I prepared my face to generate a convincing smile, but as I started to stand, I sensed a tremendous pressure on my throat. I unleashed a gutteral hacking sound. In my haste to close my briefcase, I failed to make sure my necktie was outside it’s demon-like grip. Now my eyes went into BULGE mode and I was still leaning at a 45 degree angle from the waist with a full briefcase – hanging me, corporate style.

STILL 8:36 – I had to think quickly because Mr. Big had now extended his arm for a handshake. I was now beyond trying to mask the embarrassment and in survival mode. Not only was I incapable of talking, I was afraid of losing consciousness. I trusted my instincts…which was another big mistake. The only thing to do, I thought, was to unlock the briefcase.

At first, one side unlocked but the other didn’t. I noticed that the combination code was one digit off. So I moved the hand I had supporting the bottom of the briefcase from falling to spin the combination to the right code and pushed the metal button to the left. It released…and so did everything inside my briefcase. My briefcase actually threw up on Mr. Big’s wing-tip shoes and then careened into his chins.

“This is only a dream”, I thought. But it was the sales call from hell. I’ve blacked-out the rest of the call. I only recall that we never got the business.

This lesson for me was not just one of humility. According to trust expert Charles H. Green, self orientation is the single biggest factor of your trustworthiness. This was a lesson on self-orientation which I aspired for so desperately on this call. Yet, self-orientation cuts two ways. The more obvious version is the one of the rock star. The cocky sales person who masks his high self-orientation with customer-focused
tactics waiting to pounce on an opening to go for the close. Buyers see right through these behaviors. The other side to self-orientation has to do with over-concern for self. Worry. In my case, I was worried about impressing both Mr. Brooks and Mr. Big instead of what I might offer to help Mr. Brooks with an important business issue.

Whether you think you’re a rock star or a sinking rock, remember where to put your focus – on the buyer and not yourself.

Let’s face it, everyone wants to be trusted. In the sales world, trust isn’t just a nicety, it’s the glue that holds together quality relationships. It’s the essential component for long-term growth and profitability in your business.

Trust expert and author Charles H. Green lists his “sweet 16″ compelling insights in his blog “The Guts of Trust”.

The paparazzi encircle the limo-toted movie stars as they prepare to grace the red carpet for the premier screening of their latest blockbuster. Ah, but this isn’t an open-invitation event. Only the select few with the proper credentials may enter through the red velvet rope that swaggers between vigilant chrome uprights.

• Expertise – What’s my track record/experience? What do others see as my strengths?
• Interest - What areas peak my curiosity?
• People – What type of customers inspire me? Which drain me?
  
• Passion – What do I genuinely get excited about? What aspects of my business would I do even if I didn’t get paid for it?
• Talents – What are my natural talents?

External:

• Financial – What are their revenues, profits, ability to pay, etc.?
• Size – How many employees, lawyers, patients, students, etc.?
• Culture – Do their core values, beliefs and value proposition fit with ours?
• Market – What’s their geographic, vertical, team, product/services, etc.?
• What other external factors should be credentials?

• Love what you do >
• Enjoy the people you’re around >
  
• Do a better job >
• Create more customer value and satisfaction >
• Build a foundation of more loyal and profitable customers

Now it’s time for your premier. You get to set the credentials for those who get through your red velvet rope. Are you ready to decide who’s on the invite list?

(Visit this link for a free “Red Velvet Rope Policy” Worksheet, a guide to help you develop your Red Velvet Rope Policy).

Don’t look now but Willy Wonka is back and his name is Tiger Woods…at least that’s Nike’s hope. People are buying Nike Platinum golf balls aspiring to find their “golden ticket” a la Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.
The “golden ticket” is actually a specially colored golf ball hidden among eleven other balls all packaged in a cube-shaped box. No doubt, Nike’s betting golf dreamers from all over the US will reach for their wallets for a modern day equivalent of a Willy Wonka led tour inside the chocolate factory…teeing off with Tiger Woods looking on. TV spots with Tiger needling “actor” versions of grand prize winners have already aired this past weekend during the ATT National, a PGA tour event that Tiger hosts in Bethesda, Maryland.

Unlike the golden ticket winners in the Wonka contest, securing a special golf ball doesn’t exactly get you through the gate for a date at the tee box with Tiger – it’s simply an entry into a sweepstakes. There are 2,000 sweepstake qualifiers; from that pool only 24 lucky winners get drawn to have Tiger watch their knees wobble and heart palpitate while he looks on.

Each of the 2,000 qualifiers make the “Tee it off with Tiger” map (below), that is, each person that receives a “special platinum colored” golf ball or, as it turns out, wins an online golf game at Nike’s site, gets a special code number.

Nike then posts the map on their site for all the world to see.

Imagine how the stories will multiply between now and the drawing.

I’m guessing Nike will sell a lot of golf balls. Why? Because people want to be able to tell a story. How many people can say they had Tiger Woods, arguably the most prolific sports icon of our time, watch them tee off – ever? (I realize non-golfers may not exactly have goose bumps). It doesn’t matter that each participant has a 1-in-a- gazillion chance of winning. They will get to mention their name in the same sentence with Tiger Woods to anyone who will listen.

The message for sellers: stories are powerful. They help potential buyers connect with you at an emotional level. Indeed, people buy on emotion and justify their decisions with logic (Jeffrey Gitomer).

Here are 3 things to consider for your stories:

1. What great stories does your organization have to tell? Think about customers that love you. What story would they tell about you? In Made to Stick, brothers Dan and Chip Heath advise we make our stories simple, unexpected, concrete, credible and emotional.

2. Who’s telling your story? In a world of remote workers and telecommuters, sharing great stories within an organization may take some effort but will provide great returns. If you’ve got more than one story, cross-pollinate.

3. Does it inspire them? Why might your customers want to become part of that story? You don’t need Tiger Woods or Willy Wonka at the other end to get the customer emotionally involved in your story. The key lies in whether it inspires them to share that story with others.

In 1996, while still fighting cancer throughout his body, Lance Armstrong established the Lance Armstrong Foundation. To exemplify the attraction to just getting within the glow of the story, the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s 2008 Summit has confirmed attendance of Senator John McCain and is waiting for confirmation from Senator Barak Obama.

Another power of effective stories involves their viral nature. I didn’t need to buy a single Nike One golf ball to share Nike’s story with all of you.

People love stories – take some time right now to think about yours and codify them. I’d love to hear your story.