Page 60 - ConvinceThemFlip

convince them in 90 seconds or less
Be aware of your
perceptions and try
to make sure they are
not getting in the way
of doing business.
Eddie, a print broker,
hadn’t yet met the cre-
ative director for one of
his newer accounts, though
they’d had a phone and
e-mail relationship for a
few months. When they
met for lunch for the first
time, here’s what happened in the initial twenty seconds:
Eddie’s eyes popped when he got his first glimpse of
Pierre. The man wasn’t at all what he’d expected. For start-
ers, Pierre had to be at least six and a half feet tall, and his
hair was buzzed up another inch on top of that. Eddie’s
job was all about keeping his shop moving—getting the
clients to make a decision fast, have their materials in fast,
and pay their bills fast. Most of the people he worked with
were little guys—fast guys. What am I going to do with the
Jolly Green Giant? he unconsciously thought. Anybody or
anything that slows us down hurts us.
Even before Pierre offered him a hand to shake, Eddie
was leaping to a host of conclusions about Pierre based
on his looks. And none of them were going to help these
two men make a connection. By the time they got to their
table in the restaurant, Eddie had convinced himself that
he and Pierre could not work together, and he was prob-
ably going to have to write off this account.
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