Dan was smiling to himself and feeling rather smug as he approached his next customer. After slaving away in a mediocre territory, he had been rewarded with a promotion to a more lucrative area. Today Dan was meeting with Billy Bob, the purchasing agent for a large company in Dan's new territory. Billy Bob had always been a loyal customer, and although this was their first meeting, Dan fully

Question

expected a large order would result from the sales call today.

Smiling, Dan entered, offered Billy Bob his hand, and said, "Hello, I'm Dan from Manfred Enterprises. How are you…"

Before Dan could even get the words out of his mouth, Billy Bob broke in.

"Who the hell are you? Where's my buddy Irvin? You know we've been doing business together for almost 12 years now. I just don't deal with anybody else, much less a greenhorn. Where the hell is Irvin? We spent a lot of time together—hell, we darn near shut down Sam's Saloon one night. I'll just have to call Irvin at home and see what the hell is going on.".

Dan recalled Irvin bragging about the order he received one night at Sam's Saloon. Dan also knew that Irvin had been fired for drinking on the job.

Dan was struck with a sense of panic. How could he respond to Billy Bob's comments without risking the account?

Should Dan take Billy Bob out for drinks to appease him?

Answer 1

Probably not. If it appears that Billy Bob likes to socialize when conducting business, a safer approach might be lunch.