A Meeting Goes Terribly Wrong, An Upstart Perfume Company Struggles To Get Noticed, And A Recent College Graduate's Strange Interview: How To Help Others See What You Have To Offer

The 3-Word Quote: ‘Uniqueness Helps Understanding’

1.

The meeting went horribly.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

It was a disaster.

And this meeting was perhaps the most critical in the history of Allen Brady Marsh, a British advertising agency.

It was 1977, and Peter Marsh had arranged a meeting with British Rail.

Allen Brady Marsh Advertising was a small firm, and British Rail was a huge client.

The advertising firm needed to land British Rail. 

The meeting was important. It had to go perfectly.

If ABM landed British Rail, it would mean millions over the next several years.

On the day of the meeting, a team from British Rail arrived promptly at ABM Advertising for the 11:00 AM meeting, ready to be pitched by Peter Marsh.

When they arrived, the ABM receptionist was on a loud and personal call about a date she had the night before.

She did not notice that the British Rail team had arrived and continued her phone conversation, discussing details of her date.

When she did notice a few minutes later, the young receptionist continued with the call, putting the receiver on her shoulder and asked if the gentlemen had an appointment.

The execs explained they had an 11:00 AM appointment with Peter Marsh.

The receptionist told them she would alert Marsh as soon as her call ended.

'British Steel, was it?' she asked them before calling Peter Marsh.

"British Rail,' the head executive responded, slightly annoyed.

The team from British Rail sat in the waiting room.

And waited.

Fifteen minutes later, the receptionist brought out some coffee in styrofoam cups. On the tray were a couple of stained sugar packets for the coffee.

The coffee was cold. One of the sugar packets seemed to opened.

The receptionist yelled across the waiting room that Peter Marsh should be with them in another 15 minutes.

The British Rail team looked at each other. The five men had now been waiting 20 minutes.

Things were not going well. The meeting was a disaster before it even started.

The small firm was not ready to impress a large client.

Finally, at 11:30, the leader of the British Rail team marched over to the receptionist, who was on another personal call.

He was irritated.

He asked her, 'Would you please tell Mr. Marsh that clearly, this is not the agency for us and that we're leaving?’

And with that, the British Rail team walked out the door.

2.

Gary Wilcox and his wife had problems.

These problems were not marriage issues, however.

The two were in business together and had a serious business problem.

It was 1998, and Wilcox and his wife had secured a small temporary space inside the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York to sell their perfume.

This was not the issue. The opportunity to be inside the department store was thrilling for the new brand.

But the couple knew that if their perfume were to be permanently included in other stores, it would have to sell incredibly well inside the one department store space they currently had.

And this was their problem.

To be successful, they had do accomplish several large tasks: sell out their product, generate buzz, get the product noticed, compete with worldwide brands, get picked up by other stores—the list went on and on.

And they had very few resources to accomplish their goals.

What they did have was a brand no one had heard of, an empty bank account, and few ideas of what to do next.

It was a tough situation.

But they did have one other thing.

They also had some shopping bags with their company name printed on them.

And it turns out those shopping bags were their most significant asset.

3.

Michael was a recent college graduate and needed a job.

He graduated from Princeton University.

But his major was art and archeology and had the idea of becoming an art historian.

Upon graduation, he realized there were few historian jobs - and the available ones paid very little.

So until he decided what to do next, he decided to look for a short-term, temporary job.

And shortly after his graduation, Michael stumbled upon what he thought was a perfect fit for him.

The job paid well, and they were hiring - the two crucial components in his job search.

The employer was a tour company, a fancy one.

It specialized in 'wealthy teens traveling to Europe.'

The company needed tour guides for these trips and usually hired 'recent graduates of basically, Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.'

Michael loved traveling, was an art history major, and graduated from Princeton.

He was a perfect fit.

So Michael arranged an interview with the owner, and a few days later he arrived at the tour company office for the interview.

However, the owner seemed stressed and preoccupied when Michael arrived for the interview.

He told Michael he had received a call from the building management.

The management told the tour guide owner that he had to move the rented office furniture that afternoon.

The chairs and desks all had to be moved elsewhere.

The owner apologized to Michael, but he did not have time for the interview as the furniture had to be moved out by the end of the day.

And the interview could not be rescheduled as the tours were leaving soon.

Even though there was no interview, Michael said he learned something crucial in that meeting decades ago that he still uses to this day.

The Takeaway:

So what do an advertising agency's terrible meeting, a struggling perfume company, and a failed tour guide interview all have in common?

They are all examples of how people got others to see what they had to offer.

In other words, they are all instances of people demonstrating their skills through action rather than just talking about them - they are examples of how people got others to really understand their value.

Let's dive in.

Peter Marsh and his ad agency landed a critical meeting with a dream client, British Rail.

British Rail had a poor reputation at the time.

Their trains were often late, service was poor, and sometimes the trains didn't show up.

But they were a huge client, and Peter Marsh knew they had deep pockets, so Marsh was anxious to land them as clients.

Many larger and better-known firms were also pitching British Rail, so Marsh knew the meeting had to be perfect.

But the meeting was far from perfect.

The receptionist was rude and indifferent. The coffee was cold. And Peter Marsh was running very late.

And after more than 30 minutes waiting, the British Rail team informed the preoccupied receptionist they would be leaving.

And he made it clear Allen Brady Marsh Advertising would certainly not be getting their business.

It was a complete and total disaster.

But as the railmen filed out of the ABM agency, Peter Marsh burst through his office doors.

He waltzed into the reception room and greeted the exiting executives. 

He loudly said, 'Gentlemen! You've just seen what the public thinks of the way British Rail treats them.'

'Now, let's see what ABM can do to put that right! Please follow me!'

The real meeting had just begun.

Everything before Marsh's speech had been carefully staged.

The receptionist had been purposefully rude.

The coffee was purposefully cold.

The rail executives had purposefully been made to wait.

Marsh had masterfully made the British Rail execs feel like most British Rail passengers - annoyed and angry after a poor experience.

Angry at the poor service.

Angry at the lack of attention to the customer.

Angry at the lateness.

Marsh had to show the rail executives what the train’s poor service was like.

He had to get them to see and understand the issues with British Rail.

He had to make them feel the frustration.

Because how the executives felt at that meeting was how most British Rail customers felt.

He knew that if he could get the rail executives to truly understand this, they would be ready to try to correct the problem.

And once the British Rail team understood what Marsh was doing, they stayed for the actual meeting.

Marsh took a gamble.

He had to make sure the company really 'got it.'

And they did.

Marsh landed British Rail as a client.

***

Gary Wilcox and his wife had a problem, remember?

They were trying to squeeze into the crowded perfume market.

They had come from England and wanted to launch their perfume in the US.

But no money, stiff competition, no name brand recognition, and no actual sales were making them think maybe their dream was unattainable.

They had that small pop-up shop in the department store, though.

And they knew they had to do something.

They might have hired an ad agency like Allen Brady Marsh if they had any money - but they didn’t.

But Wilcox's wife realized they did have one thing with them - they had those shopping bags.

And the bags became crucial for driving Jo Malone perfume sales.

Jo Malone is the name of Wilcox's wife; it is also the name of the perfume that the pair was trying to establish in the US.

Today, Jo Malone fragrances are among the top-selling perfume brands in the world.

The husband and wife duo sold the company in the late 90s to Estée Lauder for 'undisclosed millions.'

But how did the Jo Malone perfume go from an unknown brand to selling for millions a few years later?

The answer lies partially with those shopping bags the pair had when they arrived in the country.

Their bags looked exceptional - high quality and heavy duty.

The bags were white with a black bow and had Jo Malone printed on the sides.

They were similar to many other bags from high-end stores like Gucci, Prada, and Tiffany.

So Malone used what she had - her bags - to create buzz and brand awareness.

She contacted about 50 people she knew in the area.

She gave each of those 50 people some of her Jo Malone shopping bags.

And she asked these people to carry her shopping bags with them wherever they went.

And where did these people go?

Malone and her husband instructed them to go to the most 'fashionable districts' in New York - and simply walk around carrying the Jo Malone shopping bags.

Simply walk around carrying the bags. Thats all she wanted her friends to do.

It seemed odd.

The bags were empty, and the people carrying them were not selling anything.

All the people did was walk around with empty Jo Malone shopping bags.

Even Jo Malone admits it seemed pointless at first.

But eventually, the bags - and her brand - began to get noticed.

Other shoppers took notice of the bags.

Jo Malone products (or at least the bags) were seen often - in the most fashionable and trendy spots.

People became interested.

Shoppers wondered what this new brand was that everyone seemed to be buying.

And people began to seek out where they could get Jo Malone perfume.

The bags had created some buzz.

And the buzz created buyers.

They flocked to Bergdorf Goodman - and bought Jo Malone perfume.

A brand was born.

Malone said of her shopping bag stunt, 'When you are an entrepreneur and you have no money you have to think…I would salute anybody who uses creativity in a unique and different way.'

Malone had to get people to find and use her product. She knew customers would 'get it' once they tried her perfume.

Sometimes, you must point people in the right direction and show them what you can offer.

***

Michael thought he had found the perfect temporary job - a well-paying tour guide leading trips to Europe.

He was well-qualified and set up an interview.

But when he arrived, he was told there was no time for an interview.

Since the trip left soon, there would be no time to reschedule an interview either.

Michael was dejected, but he understood.

The owner apologized, but the building management told him that his office furniture had to be moved by the end of the day.

And since no one else was in the office, the tour company owner had to do it.

Michael started to walk out.

But before he left, Michael recalled the owner stopping him and saying hey, sorry to ask you this, but is there any way you could help me move all these desks, chairs, and bookcases.

Michael had nowhere else to be, so he said he would help and walked back into the office.

He spent the next hour moving furniture with the owner until the job was finished.

Once done, the owner thanked him, and Michael left.

The next day, the owner of the tour company called Michael and offered him the tour guide job.

Michael was thrilled but dumbfounded.

He couldn’t figure out how he got the job - especially without even interviewing for it.

And then he realized that moving the furniture was the interview.

It made sense - he spent an entire hour working and talking to the owner.

Michael learned later the owner did this for all hires - the owner would pretend to not have time for an interview because he had to move all the office furniture.

He would then ask the applicant if he or she wouldn't mind helping him complete the job.

Then, for the next hour, he would talk to the applicant while they completed task.

It is a test of sorts.

The owner wanted to see if his future employees were kind, helpful, able to handle unusual situations, and able to see a job through to completion—all skills his tour guides needed.

The owner forced the applicants to show him they could do a job.

The furniture moving ‘interview’ was more helpful and less formal than reading resumes and asking a few formal questions.

Michael's last name is Lewis.

Michael Lewis is not a tour guide now, nor is he an art historian. He is one of the best-selling authors in the world.

He's written Liar's Poker, The Blind Side, and Moneyball, among others.

And he often interviews people for his job.

He says he frequently follows the technique of the tour company owner, which he experienced forty years ago.

Lewis gets to know people by 'doing things.'

He makes people show him they get 'it' - that they can do the job.

It simple but important.

An advertising agency had to make the British Rail team feel what being a British Rail customer was like.

A perfume company had to prove its brand was popular to properly promote it and gain traction in the market.

And a tour guide company owner had to actually see future tour guides in action to determine if they were the right fit.

All are examples of proving value by demonstration rather than by words.

As many recent college graduates and job seekers are realizing:

Paper resumes are less powerful.

Portfolios are more powerful.

And actual products and performances are better predictors of success.

Artists, musicians, and those in the creative fields have long understood this.

Sometimes, you need to stop telling people how good a chef you are and instead go into the kitchen and prepare them a great meal.

Often, you have to prove you can do the work before you even get the job.

Once people really see you in action, then they'll understand what gifts you have to offer.

3 things before you go:

1. watch: a perfect example from The Office that shows how important it is to get them to see ‘it’. Don’t tell them-show them. An Admatic article called the British Rail pitch the best sales pitch ever, but I’ll go with Jim and Dwight.

2. listen: a classic that came on the radio the other day; turn it up

3. listen: a mellow, tap the steering wheel as you drive kind of song

I really appreciate you reading. See you 10 days.

-Jeff