I found this in this entry in Tom Asaker’s blog (which I found from via Tony Goodson). Tom passes on this feedback he got from an audience member at one of his speeeches.
Tom. A lot of what you said made a lot of sense, and some of it I have come to realize over time myself. I remembered a time when I was working in Vermont where I arrived at the appointment and the guy was too busy to see me as he had to put up some shelves. Now I offered to help him put these shelves up and later that day he signed an annual contract with me without really discussing my company at all. I knew there was a fit, and I could help his business, and now that we had a relationship he trusted my judgment to make that decision for him being that I know my product and business.
Over the years though I have started doing less and less of this as you could consider it ‘Not the best use of time.’ We are in a business world now that preaches streamlined efficiency. The easiest time to cut time is in the relationships. That is the one place where you see an opportunity to shave an hour here and an hour there so you can go on more appointments or make more phone calls. I think this is a huge mistake that is made by people every day.
Chalk that up as another argument for relationships before ideas.
