Never judge a book by its cover

The old saying is true:

"Never judge a book by its cover."

I was reminded of this a few years back when I ran into the Salesperson that sold me my dream truck and my first ever car purchase back in 2001. It’s crazy to think that 20+ years after that transaction I still vividly remember this experience and when I ran into this person 17-years after buying the truck, he still remembered very specific details about me. How many vehicles has he sold in 17-Years? How many customer interactions has he had since then? How on earth does he still remember my last name and where I live? The answer is simple; back in 2001 he didn’t judge a book by its cover.

The story goes like this; I was attending 加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚理工学院 at the time (NSP program) which was two nights a week + all day Saturday. I was living and working full-time on the Sunshine Coast and would catch the ferry into Vancouver after work on Mondays and Wednesdays to attend school then race back to West Vancouver to catch the last ferry home. It was a Monday, class ended early due to everyone wanting to have a Counterstrike LAN party, so I took the opportunity to head to a dealership early in North Vancouver as I wanted to buy this new truck I've been dreaming about and saving for.

It was late, only an hour before closing, I walk into the dealership and I was the only customer in the dealership, a group of Sales Associates were standing around talking, I’m a 21-year old kid with a ball cap, probably the epitome of what on the surface may have looked like a 'window shopper' and the group didn’t even acknowledge me, I even made eye contact with a few to signal "can someone help me" but was met with no response or acknowledgement. A few seconds later a smiling face emerges from an office after realizing I’m standing there for a good 10-minutes while the group of Sales Associates are laughing and joking around about the topic of the evening and asks if I need help.

That night this person received commission on the sale of a brand new truck, I purchased it that night. Not only did they receive commission on this purchase, I also referred my mom to him when she was looking for a new vehicle. This Salesperson didn’t judge me by assuming I’m some young kid just looking around, he saw me as a potential customer just like any other person that walked through that door and engaged me like a professional Salesperson.

It was a great learning experience for me at the time, one that I carried with me since I started getting involved in Business Development. I often recount this story and utilize this approach whether I get a random referral, an inbound email lead, or from someone that wants to connect, you never know who they are, what their story is, and what their requirements are. I can recount so many situations where a potential prospect wasn't a fit but they ended up referring me to someone else as they were impressed with the overall experience they had with me. Everything starts with a conversation...

It was great to run into this person a few years back and it was hard to believe it was 17-Years later at a different dealership, I immediately recognized his face and we started talking about that night such a long time ago. He's now a General Manager and I learned he has also shared this story over the years to new sales professionals. "Every person that walks into the dealership is a potential buyer". I guess we both learned some valuable lessons that night:

1. People will always remember how you made them feel, and he made me feel like a VIP customer that night - he didn't judge a book by its cover
2. Especially in Sales/Business Development, never judge a book by its cover - every person that engages you (physical or digital) could be a potential customer and you should treat everyone like a VIP opportunity

I’m thankful for that experience so many years ago as it taught me a valuable lesson for not only for its application in a Business Development scenario but in how you approach life in general.