I'm In Your Area

Here’s a reminder about a wheeze among the oldest of sales lines. A friend of mine was having difficulty finally pinning down a prospect to a signature. His frustration was magnified by the distance involved between him and his prospect.

4,500 miles, one ocean and several time zones.

He decided to go for broke. Some might call it the nuclear option. He’d travel the three hours to the airport his side, catch the nine hour flight to their city and then cab it to their offices.

Even buying a ticket that allowed return flexibility, the whole endeavour was costed at under $1,000. He went for it.

He called up his procrastinators and simply said,

“I’m your neck o’ the woods Friday, can I pop in and talk over any final issues with the contract then?”

They agreed. He was all set to travel from England to Florida.

When he arrived, he was shown into a vacant office. As he waited, he noticed his contract already waiting on the meeting table. Within an hour it was fully signed.

He shook hands, got a taxi back to airport, and managed to switch his return to go back on exactly the same plane that he’d flown out in. Then he had all weekend to recover at home, smiling he’d even managed to avoid the expected overnight stay and time away from his family.

The result of that one day away? Less than $1,000 spent, $50,000 in margin gained.

All from being “in your area…”