At a recent trade show, I was performing a demo for a prospective client. Lurking in the background was a tall man with a deep scowl on his face. I finished the demo and the big man approached. “I hate you,” he said as he moved to the demo screen. My first thought was, do I know this guy, did I cut him off in traffic, do I owe him money?
After introducing myself, I ask him why he hated me. He said, “I just installed video surveillance in more than thirty stores and it doesn’t do that,” pointing to the screen. Quick to compartmentalize my anger at my sales force for not being in front of this guy six months ago, I engaged him in a fact finding discussion. Tomorrow I’ll share what “that” is… and how we are on the road to redemption.