The weather is often a topic of conversation,
regardless of where people live or what time of
year it is. Certainly some weird stuff is going on
right now all over the country.

Denver has had its share of bad storms so far
this season. I have my own Denver weather story,
and of course, it involves a sales scenario.

A couple of years ago I flew into a springtime
snowstorm in Denver, my connecting city. To
compound things, the airport had electrical
problems with the flight control navigational
system. Total havoc reigned in the terminal.

Since my flight to Denver was late arriving, my
connecting flight to Los Angeles was already gone.
Instead of waiting in the customer service line snaking
down the corridor, I called the reservation
number of the airline. The helpful telephone
service agent suggested I hustle down to Gate 48
and try to standby on the next flight to Los
Angeles, although it was way overbooked.

I sprinted, weaving and hurdling down the
terminal, only to be met by the flashing message
board at Gate 48, snickering "Wait List Full."
That didn't deter me and the 10 business-suited
guys in line in front of me, still thinking we
had a shot.

I watched with amusement as these guys
attempted to throw their weight around:

"My company does a lot of business with
this airline, and I expect to get on this flight,"
demanded one.

"Look, I need to speak with your manager,"
snorted another.

One even threatened, "Give me your name.
If you don't get me on this flight, your regional
boss will hear about it."

And of course, "Do you know who I am?"

(Which brings to mind the maybe-true story
of the had-it-up-to-here gate agent who
responded to a similar question by getting
on the microphone and announcing, "Does
anyone know who this guy is, because HE
certainly doesn't." I digress. Back to the
scenario.)

Not surprisingly, all of these people
stomped away in a huff, boarding pass-less.

I felt sorry for the guy behind the counter.
And I wouldn't have blamed him, if, inside he
was secretly crowing, "Your power doesn't
mean jack-squat right now, buddy. I am the
King Poobah of the wait list."

Those self-important individuals apparently
weren't salespeople--or good ones, anyway.
They didn't understand the magic rule of sales.
Follow with me.

I approached the counter, and the agent
looked like a boxer entering the 10th
round, slightly beaten up, but braced to
dodge more blows. I smiled, and calmly
whispered,

"It's impressive how you personally can
control, and are responsible for the weather,
the electrical system in the airport, and
how many seats were built on this plane."

He laughed (for the first time in the 25
minutes I was standing there) and said,

"Yeah, I waved my magic wand and single-
handedly screwed up everyone's life today."

"I admire the way you handle the abuse
you get. I'd probably snap at some point
and tell people to kiss my ass-igned seating
chart and go play on the runway."

He replied, "I'm tempted, but you just need to
understand they're frustrated, and most
of them are used to telling people what to
do and getting their own way."

I continued, "Well, here's my situation. I understand
the wait list is closed, but whatever you
might be able to do is appreciated. I know
some of these people are at the tail end of
their trip and just going home. Personally,
I'm scheduled to do a seminar tomorrow morning
in Los Angeles, so it would be great if I could
get there tonight."

He took my ticket, noticed I did have one of
the higher levels of frequent flier status
(I let HIM discover it, instead of trying to
bang him over the head with my "power").

He leaned forward and whispered, "I'll see
what I can do. Stick around."

He got me on the flight.

It gets better.

While crow-barring my 6' 1" frame into a middle
seat, jostling for the armrests with who looked 
like ex-defensive lineman on either side of me
in the window and aisle seats, my name was called
on the plane's intercom to come to the front.

The same agent greeted me:

"Mr. Sobczak, we've upgraded you to First Class,
since a seat opened up here and we were able to
get another standby passenger on."

That didn't stink.

++++++++++ KEY SALES POINT ++++++++++++++++++
So what's the sales message in this long story?

As Zig Ziglar says, "You can get whatever you want
by helping others get what they want."

This guy had something I wanted dearly. I put
myself in his position. He wanted, at minimum,
to be treated like a human. To get what I wanted,
I needed to go beyond that.

Here's a very simple, yet often underutilized tip
that can make you happier, and ultimately rich:

Before every sales call, negotiating situation,
or any encounter where you want something--
business, or personal--ask yourself,

"What does this person want, and what do they
want to avoid?"