Quotcan You Help Mequot The Hidden Customer

Writen by Donovan Baldwin

I was an assistant manager for a major consumer electronics chain, and I was where you would expect an "assistant" manager to be, doing what you would expect an "assistant" manager to to do. I was on top of a ladder, less than ten minutes before closing time, trying to hang the signs for the new sales special starting the next day. I was tired, cross, worried about personal and financial problems, and not in a mood to deal politely with anybody about anything.

As I looked down at the scruffy, nondescript person who seemed to be a laborer in need of a bath and a change of clothes, I especially didn't feel like being helpful and polite. But, my parents had raised me that way, so as I wearily descended the ladder, I gathered it all together, turned towards the man, smiled, and said, "Yes Sir! How can I help you?", as sincerely as I could.

To make a long story short, he was the yard foreman at a local quarry, and his boss had sent him to us to see if we had some way he could communicate with his truck drivers who were going in and out of his site all day long.

Well, to make the story even shorter, I sold that man and his boss several hundred dollar's worth of communications equipment and made them regular customers, which earned me lots of commissions, and made lots of money and free publicity for the company I worked for.

All the training courses will tell you it is best to "target" your customer. Focus on reaching the specific individual who is interested in your product or service. They will tell you to go to where those people are found, either on the internet, in magazines, or other advertising venues.

True, most of your sales will probably come from targeted advertising such as that, but you can never tell when you will run into a "Larry" who will want to put some money in your pocket.

Who's Larry?

Well, in my younger, wilder days as a young soldier stationed in San Angelo, Texas, I used to spend a lot of time at the J&J Tavern, drinking beer and shooting pool. One of the regulars was an elderly man (about the same age I am now, only I am NOT elderly). He dressed in the same old beat-up outfit, and seemed to be content to spend his social security, or whatever he lived on, betting on his pool playing abilities and drinking beer. We would shoot him, beat him, but never play for high stakes because he wasn't very good, and we didn't like taking his limited funds away from him. We couldn't stop him from playing, however, and the games were always for money...and he always lost.

One hot summer day, in the middle of a pool game, a flashy brand-new Cadillac pulled up to the curb, and an older woman with way too much make-up and more than enough jewelry, and wearing a fur coat in the summer heat got out. Standing in the doorway of the Tavern, she yelled, "Larry! Get out here now! You know we've got to be some where!"

Poor old Larry slunk off without a word. Always laughing, drunk and boisterous, he now seemed a weak shell of himself.

As they drove off, we asked the bartender who that was.

She said, "Oh. That's Larry's wife."

She let it lay there a minute, and then said, "Bet you thought Larry was living on a Social Security check, or something?"

We nodded.

She said, "Larry scratched out a living for several years with a few head of cattle on a dirt poor ranch outside of town until one day they found oil directly under his little piece of land. Larry's been a filthy rich millionaire for several years. All he wants to do is drink his beer and shoot a little pool, and that keeps him happy, but his wife wants to be queen of the walk and every once in a while she ropes him in, cleans him up, and makes him go somewhere and do things he doesn't like to do with people he doesn't like to be with. He likes being here with you boys and shooting pool. I'm glad you never let him play for high stakes. That's nice of you. Have a beer on me."

Don't ever be so sure who ISN'T your next best customer.

The author is retired from the Army after 21 years of service, has worked as an accountant, optical lab manager, restaurant manager, and instructor. He has been a member of Mensa for several years, and has written and published poetry, essays, and articles on various subjects for the last 40 years. He has been an active internet marketer since 2000, and now makes his living online. To learn more about improving your marketing performance, please visit http://marketingsecrets.xtramoney4me.net. To read more articles by the author, please visit his blog at http://donovanbaldwin.blogspot.com/.