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A story from Hurricane Irma that every sales person should read.

By Chris Peterson| Sep 20, 2017 8:50:00 AM | 1 Comment

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Earlier today, I was catching up with a friend, Ross Linville, in Downtown Orlando.  Ross is a co-owner of the local Security 101 franchise, so we always have a lot to talk about during our visits.  However, this get-together didn’t include much shop talk – it was all about the impact of Hurricane Irma, and the various stories that were born from our week of chaos.  Below is a story Ross shared with me that every sales person should read. 

When returning to their home, six days after they lost power, Ross and his family were shocked that they still had no power.  Their neighbors had power.  When they called the utility company, they were told their power was restored – which is why they returned home.  However, when they pulled in their driveway, it was obvious that they were still out of luck.

As Ross’s wife started her process of making the most of the situation, Ross got back in his truck.  He was on a mission.  He had to know why his block was surrounded by homes pumping cool air conditioning while his was still sitting at 110 degrees.  When his wife dug for a more detailed answer about where he was going, he replied “I don’t know, but I’m going to figure this out.”  Off he went.

Within a minute, he came across a crew working on a transformer.  When he politely asked for a minute of their time, they blew him off.  I’ve seen Ross in action.  When he wants to charm someone to get a positive response, it works.  I know he wasn’t rude, but these guys were so overwhelmed that they ignored him. 

So, off he went in another direction, where he ran across some random men working in their adjacent yards.  He stopped his truck, and approached the men - looking for any answers he could find.  When he explained his situation and the experience he had with the crew a few minutes ago, the men told him about a white Ford-150.  “That’s the boss.  You need to find him, and you’ll get some answers.  The crew can’t help you at all – they’re not allowed to.”  Ok, a white Ford-150.  A clue.

Again, off he went.  This time, he called his wife and told her to be on the lookout for his white whale.  “If you see it, do whatever you must do, but get him to stop, and call me.”  He kept driving, spoke to a few more people here and there, asking when their power was restored, when it died, etc.  He gathered more and more intel until an hour or so later when he saw the F-150.  Fortunately, it was parked, and the boss was in the cab talking on the phone. 

Ross parked his truck, and slowly approached the boss – the man that could flip a figurative switch, and restore power to his house.  “Excuse me, do you have a minute?  I just have one question and I’ll leave you alone – I know how busy you must be.” 

The man responded with an upbeat “Yes sir, what do you need?”  (This is why he’s the boss, btw.) 

Ross went on … “Our house, on Main and 11th, has no power; but our block is surrounded by houses that have had their power restored.  I’m just curious if there is something we can do, or something we did wrong.” 

Utility Bossman: “Not sure.  Let’s get down there and check it out.”

Five minutes later, Ross and his entire block had power.

An accountant, lawyer, teacher, doctor, pro athlete, or any other type of professional would not have been able to make that happen.  A sales professional can … and did.  He drove into the field, not knowing the elements in front of him, but knowing he had to get out there.  He approached strangers with kindness and confidence.  He asked questions and investigated the situation.  He found the decision-maker, built rapport with him immediately, and convinced him to help. 

At the core, this is what we do.  We’re in front of everything else in our businesses.  We find strangers, and boldly knock on their doors.  We turn these strangers into friends, and we convince them to trust us enough to trade their money for our products and services.  We can also use these skills to do a whole lot of other cool things, too – like making sure that our house and our neighbors’ houses regain power after a hurricane. 

Great work Ross, and thanks for the awesome story.

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