It’s 1am, I’m shattered, but it’s been a great day. A great day, because I sealed a new deal with a client; and every businessman knows how good that feels. It’s also a long-term deal (a three month initial contract, extending in quarters from there)- and as a service business, that’s great news too. Projects, which require constant re-selling, are the bane of our lives. The client is also a global player, so today has been good on all possible counts.
But what really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to my core is a much simpler fact: I really like the people I’m going to be working with. Elsewhere in this blog, I’ve mentioned that the only time I have been cheated for money I felt a lack of connection with the client from the moment they walked into my office.
In this case, however, we have had several telephone conversations. We have produced some sample work as a gesture of goodwill. And today I got up at silly o’clock to fly to Vienna and see who we were really dealing with. My contact turns out to be charming and committed, and her team are wonderful: friendly, motivated and entirely devoid of the “front” which so many businesspeople seem desperate to put up.
It’s going to be great working with them, and despite being extremely tired, I’m thoroughly excited about what lies ahead. As an entrepreneur, I’m basically a salesman, and salesmen have a habit of losing interest once the deal is done. It really helps keep the interest up if you succesfully engage with the client on a personal level.
The money will be handy, of course; but nothing beats getting up each morning and feeling motivated about what you do. As of today, I have another client who fills me with motivation; and that’s worth its weight in gold.
Filed under: people skills, sales | Tagged: clients, instinct, people skills, sales
