People Buy From People

A Sales Warrior knows to Google the attendees of an upcoming meeting.

You are looking for a glimpse of the real level of authority. That person who was a last minute addition may be an expert in the field that can make or break your deal.

Conversely, your contacts may have a personal hobby or passion that centers on a hot topic (politics, religion, or abortion) of which you need to be aware so that you can avoid potential “land mines” in casual conversation.

I was going to share one of my experiences, but one of the team trumped me with this story:

“I was preparing for an upcoming demo with the web team of a prospect, and my technical champion popped up in the search results as the subject of this article. (We changed the name of the individual to “Philip Franzen”, the rest of the story, including the author’s name, is authentic)

“Philip Franzen” of Chicago has never quite forgiven doctors for circumcising him 32 years ago, nor his parents for requesting the procedure.
“It always bothered me,” said Franzen, a Web page developer. “I just wanted to be whole.” Franzen is one of what many estimate are several thousand men in the United States and other countries who are taking back what doctors cut away at their birth.

Brought together mainly over the Internet, these men – young, retired, straight, gay, blue collar and professional – say they are growing back their foreskin, transforming themselves from circumcised to near natural in a few years for better sex, general comfort and emotional healing.

Franzen has worn a pair of men’s tall-size suspenders under his pants for the past four and a half years. The suspenders are attached to various devices – from first-aid tape to a contraption made of halved plastic Easter eggs and copper wire – that gently stretch the skin on his penis.

His goal: to grow back skin that resembles the foreskin he lost when he was circumcised.

By Susan Skiles Luke, Associated Press Writer

“Philip was very professional and knowledgeable, top notch in his field. But, I will be honest, it was awkward sitting across from him. As much as I tried, I couldn’t keep from wondering what skin-stretching device and/or technique was in use. I never been so thankful for pants in all my life.”

You know, the tags that you see at the bottom of each posts are supposed to describe the content of the post. Sometimes it’s good to be vague.