Southwestern Sales Talk

And now for a departure from my normal sales blog for a chance political encouner: I was running a Leadership Retreat for Southwestern student managers in Des Moines, IA last week.  As we wrapped up lunch and were heading into the conference room, one of the managers remarked, “Rick Perry is in the restaurant.”  Didn’t register.  I was busy getting the projector ready, messing with the PowerPoint.  Then I got a text: “Rick Perry in restaurant.”  It dawned on me that this was no joke, since there was a debate that night in town!  We suspended the meeting and I headed over to meet one of our alums, now Republican presidential candidate.

A cluster of student managers encircled Gov. Perry.  I naturally pushed them aside and shook hands.  It was a nice encounter–the restaurant had emptied–and there were a couple bodyguards on the periphery.  Perry seemed interested in the Southwestern students, and his body language gave no indication he was in a hurry to exit.  We chatted about Southwestern, who we knew, and asked him about that night’s debate.  His ”Gold Seal Gold” election schedule sounded daunting, and we were glad to be able to spend a few minutes with him.

Overall, Perry made a good impression (would you expect any less?).  He was warm, friendly, interested in us and what we were doing.  Obviously, photos were in order so we fell in and took a few shots.  As we broke up, we asked him if he would mind saying a few words about his Southwestern experience on video.  Perry told us that he could not endorse a product or company, but he did say we could quote him: “Southwestern’s the best thing I ever did.”

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