I’m continuing with the Back to School theme from the last post. This morning I received an email with a series of snapshots depicting “How to fail with dignity” (posted at the end). Besides the laughs I got from it, I also had an “aha”!
When you don’t know something, humor can make all the difference in how you are perceived! Think about situations you have been in…ever see humor be the right thing to make a bad situation better?
Last year I heard one of the best sales “humor” stories. A high level financial (selling multi-million dollar financing deals) sales executive’s suitcase did not arrive in a city when he did. It also did not arrive the next morning before his sales presentation either.
But he did have a small travel duffel bag which he planned to store out of sight before the prospects arrived. When the taxi dropped him at the meeting he didn’t have a chance – they were all there waiting for him!
A quick thinker…he plopped the duffel bag on a table and announced “Gentlemen, the money you need is in this bag!” After the laughter died down, he shared his missing luggage story and went into a great sales meeting discussing financing options.
I’ve heard sales people bemoan the fact that they were “stuck” in nsituations when their technology didn’t work, or the venue of something changed, or they forgot something…it happens! How have you used humor to avoid failing in one of these “stuck” situations?
Oh, and the examples of “Failing with Dignity in School” are below – hope you enjoy!
