Board Room Blonde

It was early 2000, the late 'startup' days. Our largest customer had just signed a major contract. This meant I had to get them launched, quickly. It also meant I'd be heading to Paris for two weeks - I was in!

I only had one week to prepare. I corresponded with the client regularly, providing login details, technical docs, coordinating an onsite training agenda. The next thing I knew I was on an airplane, excited to meet my first international customer in person.

As it turned out, my company's CEO and CTO were both going to be in Europe the first two days, so they decided to come to Paris to help me kick the meetings off. Although this made me more nervous, I was excited to have their support and was confident the customer was on-track, and everything would go smoothly.

As we walked into the lobby that day, I started wondering what the customer would be like in person. This was pre-LinkedIn - I had no idea. What would 'Jean-Pierre' look like? What would he sound like? The possibilities were endless.

We registered at the front desk and waited for Jean-Pierre to arrive. I heard the front desk say 'Good morning, Jean-Pierre.' I knew this must be our guy. I jumped up, determined to be the first to greet him. I extended my hand to this tall man, w/ a long gray beard. He looked like a librarian. I said, "Good morning, Jean-Pierre. It's Max, I am so pleased to finally meet you."

He did not reach out to shake my hand.
He made a face of disgust.
He pursed his lips, and he said in his French accent:   "But you are a woman."  

Silence. Pure and utter silence.

Finally, after several quiet awkward moments, my CEO starts laughing and says, "Ha! She sure is. Nice to meet you Jean-Pierre."

I was dumbstruck. Young, flustered, embarrassed - zero experience - and yes, a woman. I spent the next few minutes pulling myself together and trying to figure out what went wrong. I finally realized, we had never spoken by phone.  This whole time he thought 'Max' was a man.

I spent the next two weeks trying to win him over. This was a guy that had worked in an industry dominated by men for 30+ years, before I was even born. I was prepared. I knew the content. I came in early. I stayed late. I bonded with his team. I refused to give up. I had to get through to him.

After two weeks of meetings, on the very last day, he finally   looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and said thank you  . Success!

I had won over my first of what would be many challenging customers over the years by not getting rattled, working hard, and just being me. Which yes, just so happens to be a woman.

Have any good 'meeting your first customer' stories? Any good 'but you are a woman' stories? I'd love to hear them. Share in Comments or by emailing me at max@max-powers.com.

Experience is the most valuable tool - share it.