My partner and I flew in from the sunny South for a sales call -- all the way from Alabama. Our local insurance client had sent us to their Canadian headquarters, where we were about to present a full offering of our services for all their U.S. offices.
The French gal at the rental car counter immediately pegged us as Americans and began speaking to us in beautifully accented English. I gestured over my shoulder at the weather.
"Do we have to walk to the shuttle, walk to the car lot, and then walk outside again to our car?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Sir, we will deliver your auto right outside that door. It's a blue Ford Crown Victoria."
Five minutes later, a big blue Ford pulled up and a man jumped out and ran into the terminal. He nodded to us as he walked by. My partner and I looked at one another and dashed into the snow.
We drove out of the airport, and I told my colleague to open the glove compartment, in which the counter woman said a map was awaiting us.
Paper trash and other garbage spilled out of the glove box as he popped it open.
"This car is a dump!" I said. And then that little light went off in our heads. We looked at each other and together said, "This is not our car."
I glanced into the rearview mirror and realized that someone else had come to the same conclusion. A light was going off -- a flashing light from a Royal Canadian Mounted Police vehicle right behind us.
Well, of course we had driven away in the car of the poor guy who had earlier nodded to us, thinking he was giving us the "go ahead and get in" signal as he rushed in from the cold.
My lesson? Impatience can have lots of unexpected consequences.
The Moral: John's a wanted man north of the border! He's right, though. Life is getting too fast. We're always in a hurry. We cram cell phone conversations into our down time. We just can't relax anymore. And our clients and prospects want us to quickly get to our point. If you learn to slow down and calm down, however, it will increase your energy when you need it most. Be wise about managing your time, and take time for yourself. You body, your mind, and, most importantly, your family will love you for simply slowing down.
Sales from the Dark Side is compiled by speaker and trainer Dan Seidman. For more tales, visit www.salesautopsy.com.
