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Who Are You Talking To?

Written by: Laura Posey

Article Overview: Twenty minutes after we boarded the plane, the pilot came on to tell us that there was a maintenance issue with the aircraft and we would be slightly delayed taking off. The red-eye from San Francisco to Charlotte ended up being over an hour late leaving the airport, meaning many passengers, including me, were going to miss their connection flights. As I had no particular place to be the next day, I settled in to for a nap.

Who Are You Talking To?

Twenty minutes after we boarded the plane, the pilot came on to tell us that there was a maintenance issue with the aircraft and we would be slightly delayed taking off.

The red-eye from San Francisco to Charlotte ended up being over an hour late leaving the airport, meaning many passengers, including me, were going to miss their connection flights. As I had no particular place to be the next day, I settled in to for a nap.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much rest but it wasn’t because of the snoring man behind m or the squealing toddler across the aisle. It was the woman behind me, who gave me a sales reminder.

It seems this particular passenger was going to miss her connection to Atlanta and likely her niece’s baptism and she was complaining loudly to her seatmate. She wanted to know immediately if she was going to get an early enough connection and if so, exactly when she would arrive at her destination.

Her seatmate, however, couldn’t answer her questions but the woman continued to complain through most of the flight.

How often have you voiced a complaint to someone other than a person who could do something about it? Worse yet, how often have you made a sales request to someone who couldn’t buy?

It is a waste of your time to tell your story to someone who doesn’t have the authority or power to act on it. Before you start selling, make sure you have an actual buyer to talk to.

Otherwise you might end up like the passenger behind me - frustrated and disliked.

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Article Tags: marketing, motivation, sales, sales tips, small business



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