When Glenn got on the plane in Chicago earlier this morning, it was 23 degrees and snowy. When he landed in Ft. Lauderdale an hour ago, it was 81 degrees and sunny. The day was already getting better.
He held his key card against the door handle, the light turned green, and he opened the door. He walked into the sunny room and threw his suitcase on the bed. He immediately walked over to the sliding glass door, pushed it open, and walked onto the balcony. He was greeted with a beautiful view of the beach and the ocean from the 23
rd
floor. He could make out bodies on the beach and boats in the water. Looking north or south he saw unlimited miles of sand meeting ocean. Looking east, beyond the boats, he saw the ocean meet the horizon. It was quite beautiful.
He was in Florida to attend Forest Software Company's annual Customer Conference. His current client was a Fortune 100 company who was looking for new software to use with its franchisees. It would collect data from each franchisee, monitor their performance, create invoices for the royalties due the company, and create a number of reports to help both senior management and field operation consultants. He and his team had reviewed all of the proposals from the various companies which had submitted them, and they were close to making a decision. Forest was the company that was most likely to win the business, and they invited Glenn to attend the conference so he could speak with other customers and see how they were using the software.
Each of the current customers had to pay a hefty fee to attend the conference, but most were happy to do so. They liked interacting with other customers to learn different ways to take advantage of the various tools, and they could submit ideas for new software features. Forest was also known for putting on a really good conference, with good food, lots of alcohol, and some great entertainment.
Glenn's client didn't have to pay this year, as they were being courted. His job was to attend various sessions, talk to customers about how they liked the software, find out how good the support was, and be on the lookout for any differences between what the slick software salespeople said and what the current customers said was reality. As Glenn used to joke with his team, "I know it's hard to believe, but
sometimes
salespeople stretch the truth about what the product can do."
There were no sessions scheduled the first afternoon of the conference. Instead, the attendees had time to walk around the "Partner Exhibitions" hall. In here, a number of vendors hawked their product. Some of them interfaced directly with the host's software, and others were in a related, but non-competitive, area. As Glenn walked around the exhibits, he chuckled at how every vendor was eager to talk to him because his client's name was on his badge. When he'd attended conferences wearing a badge with the name of his small, little-known consulting firm, he almost had to beg people to talk to him.
One of the vendors, BestSched, sold software for scheduling employees for different shifts, and it really caught his eye. Actually, it wasn't the software that caught his eye - it was the two beautiful women manning the booth. As he walked up to the booth, one of the women saw his client's name and was eager to talk to him. Suzy, whose nametag said Vice President, Marketing, introduced herself with a firm handshake. She asked Glenn if he was familiar with their product, which he was. They spoke for a little bit, and then Glenn had to admit that his client had just signed an agreement with one of Suzy's competitors.
"But," he said, "I've got other clients, so I'll certainly keep you in mind." Then he paused for a second before continuing, "and your software product, too!"
Suzy laughed and then said, "Okay. Even if I can't sell you some software, you can still take one of our very fancy pens that has our logo on it. C'mere - let me introduce you to Amy."
She called Amy over and introduced her to Glenn. Her nametag said Sales Consultant, and she extended her hand. She was a beautiful woman, with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. She smiled as she said hi, and Glenn thought he was going to melt. They chatted for a couple of minutes, and then some other people walked up to the booth. Glenn excused himself, knowing the women were there to sell product, not simply socialize. As he left, he looked at Amy and said, "I'll see you later."
Glenn could not forget the sexy look on her face as she said, "I'll make sure you do!"
If he didn't know better, he would have thought that was a come-on. He knew he was a decent looking guy but certainly not someone who would be described as "hot". He exercised regularly, but he didn't have a six-pack or huge arms. He was on okay-looking guy in reasonable shape. But SHE was ravishing. And 15 years younger than he was. So he knew she wasn't hitting on him. Then he realized she didn't hear his conversation with Suzy, where he said there was no way his client was buying their software, so she was obviously just using her charm to try to land a sale. THAT made sense. He chuckled to himself as he thought he should stop being so truthful. Let the hot women trying to make a sale think they could use their charm to woo him. Yeah, right. Not exactly his style.
As Glenn walked away from the booth, Amy looked at him over her shoulder.
Why was I so infatuated with that guy? He's okay looking, and he sure was friendly. But did I really say "I'll make sure you do"? Sheesh, what's wrong with me?
Glenn continued walking through the exhibit hall. There were some interesting displays, some vendors he had met before and some new start-ups that seemed to offer some potential. But he was mainly at the conference to learn about how people used Forest's software, and those sessions weren't starting until the next day.
Although there was no dinner that night, there was a cocktail party. This was always one of the best attended events: good appetizers and free booze. Although Glenn wasn't a big drinker, he figured he could nurse his scotch and soda as he talked to other attendees. He met some folks from a competitor who were also using the product, and they freely shared information about their experiences. He also talked to a number of franchisors in other industries who invited him to their offices after the conference to learn more. All in all, it was a successful evening.
Just as he was thinking he'd had enough schmoozing, someone walked up behind him and put a hand on his forearm.
"See. I TOLD you I'd make sure you'd see me again."
Glenn turned to see the beautiful smiling face of Amy. "Hi again. How's the selling going?" he asked.
Still keeping her hand on his arm, she said, "A little slow this afternoon, but it will pick up. Tomorrow there will be people in and out all day during the sessions, so we'll see what happens. The goal here is to get names and numbers so we can contact people and follow up after we get back."
"I already told Suzy my client just signed a deal with your competitor, but you can still have my number," he said with a smile.
