By Paul Reilly
Have you ever experienced a career-defining moment? A pivotal event that changes everything. I have. And that event taught me an important lesson: You never know who will be in the room.
Early in my speaking career, I tirelessly and fruitlessly pursued a well-known trade association. I was convinced that a speaking gig at this conference would put me on the map. But I couldn’t find a way to win their business. I tried everything—leveraged referrals, used endorsements from their members, and cyber-stalked key decision makers. Nothing worked.
Still, I thought, I’ll give it one more chance. At this point, I was dangerously close to becoming a prisoner of hope. I reached out one more time, and shockingly, won the deal. It was a major victory. Their annual conference was in January, and I’d present to roughly 500 executives. It’s like getting paid to make a sales call to 500 decision makers. It was going to be epic.
Fast forward several months. It was the morning of the program, and I showed up early to begin my pre-speech routine. I met with the AV team, rehearsed my presentation, and visualized the speech. I envisioned a standing-room-only-sized crowd. The audience was elbow to elbow. People were spilling into the hallway, hoping to hear this powerful message.
The doors opened, and no one was there. I waited. And waited. Nobody showed up.
My program started in ten minutes, and the room was empty.
Finally, five minutes later, twelve people filtered in. Twelve. That’s twelve people in a room set up for 500. It felt like a failure. It was embarrassing, and I was disappointed. Then I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride, and reminded myself why I was there.
I couldn’t control the size of the audience, but I could control my attitude. I thought these twelve were going to get my absolute best. They deserve it. For 60 minutes, I passionately shared the Value-Added Selling message. It went well. It was a win. A small win.
A few weeks later, I received a call from a prospective client. He said, “I heard you speak a few weeks ago at that conference. You gave me a copy of your book. I’m not sure if you remember me.”
I almost laughed; there were only twelve. How could I forget?
The conversation quickly became a full-length discovery call. We discussed their sales challenges and their vision for their sales team. I detailed a high-level plan to address his concerns, and after a few more calls, we inked the deal.
This client became my single largest client to date, and opened the door to several other clients within the industry.
The path to success rarely looks the way we thought it would. It’s filled with thrilling peaks and painful valleys. Along the way, your greatest opportunities may be initially disguised as a failure. You never know who will be in the room. Your next sales call, next meeting, next e-mail, or lead could change the trajectory of your career…If you are ready for it.