Running late for a client meeting, a DCM banker I know who’s a bit of a penny-pincher, decided to park his car in an area reserved for residents of a nearby housing complex. He returned three hours later to see a handful of burly men surrounding his vehicle. Sensing immediately that something was wrong, he went up to them and asked what the matter was.
One of them stepped forward, growling they were security, demanding to know why the chap had parked illegally. Faced with the prospect of a hiding, he blurted out that he was visiting one of the residents, mouthing the number of the first apartment that caught his eye.
The security guards, undeterred, decided to accompany the boy to the house to verify his claims. And seeing no way out, the banker complied.
With trepidation, he rang the doorbell. And when an old gentleman opened the door, my friend said: “I am here to talk to you about our bank’s latest deals,” and offered his business card. Not the strongest opening but mercifully, one that worked.
Incredible as it sounds, the bloke managed to blag his way through, wowing the man with talks of a new credit card and its features. The meeting finished with a decisive handshake and a request for a contract, with the security having no option but to scowl and exit.
Now that’s what I call talking the talk and walking the walk!