Seth Godin has been a business master for a long time. In a recent blog post, Seth tells a story that exemplifies what building relationships and making sales is all about. I used it at a recent workshop I did at the NSSEA conference (giving Seth full credit of course):

“When there were old-school parking meters in New York, quarters were precious. One day, I’m walking down the street and a guy comes up to me and says, “Do you have a dollar for four quarters?” He held out his hand with four quarters in it. Curious, I engaged with him. I took out a dollar bill and took the four quarters.

Then he turned to me and said, “can you spare a quarter?” What a fascinating interaction. First, he engaged me. A fair trade, one that perhaps even benefited me, not him. Now, we have a relationship. Now, he knows I have a quarter (in my hand, even). So his next request is much more difficult to turn down. If he had just walked up to me and said, “can you spare a quarter,” he would have been invisible. Too often, we close the sale before we even open it.Interact first, sell second.”