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[KEY CONCEPT] TRANSPORTATION ENCOUNTERS
Transportation encounters are probably the most common way serendipitous
selling occurs. I suspect that more coincidences happen while riding
some mode of transportation than in any other situation. This is
mainly because many times, while traveling, complete strangers are
thrown together. Once they find the opportunity to talk to one another,
they realize that they have a lot in common. In addition to the
notion of serendipity, another fortuitous concept, that of "six
degrees of separation," might be considered here as well. In
case you are unaware of this expression, it suggests that each individual
person is six people, or fewer, away from knowing every other person
in the world.
TRANSPORTATION ENCOUNTER #1
One example of a transportation encounter happened to a sales executive
while on a flight from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Nashville, Tennessee.
This sales professional, named John, was excited to find that by
putting his name on the waiting list early enough, he was able to
use his frequent flyer miles to upgrade his ticket to first class.
When he boarded the airplane and settled in, his plan was to relax
and enjoy the flight. He really wasn't in the mood to speak to anybody.
(Have you ever not been in the mood to speak to the person next
to you on an airplane flight?)
Everything was going as it usually does, when he flew on business.
The flight attendants prepared for takeoff. The pilot got on the
PA system with a friendly greeting and an optimistic weather report.
Seat belts were buckled and his flight was number one in line for
takeoff. Once airborne, the flight attendant started heading down
the aisle with her beverage cart. This is when the serendipity began.
As the cart came down the aisle and stopped next to John, and
Joe the person sitting next to John, all of a sudden the combustion
of the carbonated beverages went berserk. Coca-Cola, beer and seltzer
water all started spraying everyone in First Class. Needless to
say, everyone was extremely upset, except John and Joe, who both
started laughing hysterically.
At which point, Joe said to John, "I have an appreciation
for what's happening here because I happen to be in the beverage
business."
"You're kidding." John said. "So am I. What do you
do?"
Joe replied, "I work for a company that designs packaging
for beverage cans. Why? What do you do?"
John replied, "My company coats the cans," and Joe said
"What a coincidence."
After an enthusiastic conversation that lasted the rest of the
flight, John discovered that he could actually do business with
Joe's company. The two exchanged business cards. Joe gave John a
lead for some business and said, "Use my name when you call,
and let me know how it goes."
Fast forward three months later: a new client is "born!"
TRANSPORTATION ENCOUNTER #2
Another example of a transportation encounter that led to increased
sales and profitability occurred while riding in a Holiday Inn courtesy
van. Jane Holland was in town on a consulting assignment meeting
with a client who was located a mile away from the Holiday Inn where
she was staying. Since she had meetings all week and needed daily
roundtrip transportation, she got to know the drivers of the courtesy
van pretty well. Each morning a van driver named John, a retired
business executive with ten grandchildren, brought her to her clients'
offices; after her meetings she was picked up each evening by Bill,
an ambitious graduate student. Jane was an excellent rapport builder
and she actually liked learning about the lives of the people that
transported her back and forth.
By Friday, Jane was exhausted and just wanted to get home. (Have
you ever felt like this?) So, she called the hotel at lunchtime
and asked to speak with Bill, the afternoon driver.
She said "Bill, I really want to get home. Could you please
make sure to pick me up at 3:45 PM on the dot, and take me to the
airport?"
Bill said, "Of course, I understand. It's time to get you
home."
And sure enough, at 3:45 PM on the dot, Jane was racing through
her client's lobby and was delighted to see the Holiday Inn courtesy
van outside waiting for her. Bill got out of the van, opened the
door for her as he routinely did, and then proceeded to place her
carry-on luggage in the back. Jane had to sit in the front seat
because the van was filled to its maximum seating capacity. As she
entered the van, she took a look around and could tell by the expressions
on the faces of those inside that this was an unwelcome stop. She
felt the tension and hostility, but she didn't care. All that mattered
to her was that she was done with her assignment, had caught her
van ride and was off to the airport, and soon going to be home.
Feeling completely exhausted, her energy depleted, she collapsed
in her seat, took a deep breath and said to herself, 'I'm done!
Time to shift to relaxation mode.'
Then, all of a sudden, she heard a conversation coming from the
back of the van that she found intriguing. The business executives
all seemed to be from the same organization and they were having
a discussion about a meeting that they had had that day. "Since
Murray isn't here," one of them said, "let's talk candidly."
Jane tried to ignore their conversation but it became too difficult
because she knew she could offer the perfect solution to their business
issues. She said to herself, "Stop. Just ignore it. You're
tired and you don't need to get involved with this." She shut
her eyes and tried to go to sleep. But, the voices kept speaking
words that had meaning to the whole core of what she was in business
to provide, and finally, despite her exhaustion and resistance to
getting involved, she just had to say something. She turned
and suddenly realized that there were approximately nine people
sitting behind her. Trying desperately to come up with a good segué
in order to enter the conversation, and not knowing the status of
who was who in the group, Jane made eye contact with the person
diagonally to the right behind her and blurted out, "I apologize
if you may feel I was eavesdropping in on your conversation but,
since Murray is not here, you need to know that you need me!"
The man that she was speaking to looked a little stunned and didn't
say anything. Jane opened her briefcase and took out a business
card and said, " Here's my card. If you feel there might be
a need to discuss things further, please give me a call." Then
she noticed that the man she gave the card to, handed the card back
to someone, who then handed the card back to someone else, who then
handed the card back to a person seated in the last seat of the
van. Jane thought that would be the end of it. She was pleased that,
at least, despite her initial resistance, that she had seized an
opportunity.
She was about to turn back around when she caught a glimpse of
a hand in the very back of the van rising up in the air with a business
card in it. She watched in disbelief as this hand handed the card
to a hand in front of it, which in turn handed the card to another
hand, which then handed it to the man Jane was speaking to, who
then handed the card to her. On the card was printed, Walter Bristol,
Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "Yes!" she thought.
"The Vice President of Sales and Marketing." Miraculously,
she had reached the type of contact she would have typically sought
out on her own. Just then, the van pulled into the airport and the
entire group ran out and scurried to catch their flights. Jane was
left in the van with Bill.
Bill said. "Wow. You're good."
Jane said, "Bill, honestly, I was so tired I really was not
interested in pursuing any more business today. It just kind of
fell into my lap." And then she asked, "Do you know who
they were?"
Bill said, "Oh yes. They were all top executives of a highly
respected educational organization based in Tampa, Florida. In those
rows of seats behind you, you had the Senior Vice President, the
Director of Human Resources, the Director of Operations, the Controller,
amongst others. The guy you gave your card to, he was the President."
Jane said, "You're kidding. I actually gave my card to the
president?"
"You certainly did," said Bill. "And you sounded
good too. You actually calmed them down. They were very impatient
to get to the airport. When they found out that I had arranged to
pick you up, they nearly had a fit. I told them I had promised Ms.
Holland a ride to the airport and they were wondering who this Ms.
Holland was. Did you detect the hostility when you got into the
van?"
"Oh yes," Jane said.
"That's because they were afraid they were going to be late
for their flights," said Bill. "I knew that we would make
it to the airport in plenty of time, and that I could still keep
my promise to you."
"Thank you," said Jane as she exited the van and raced
off to catch her flight.
The next day, Jane followed up by calling Walter. He was receptive
to the call and mentioned how amazed he was with the courtesy van
driver's dedication to her. He also admitted that he and his colleagues
were slightly annoyed by the detour to pick her up, but were curious
to learn more about what she had to offer. Jane promised to send
Walter some promotional material and then followed up a week later.
Fast forward three months later: Jane got the business and Walter's
company got an excellent remedy for resolving a stressful business
issue.
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