Ryan launched into a presentation that showed how the retailer was leaving money on the table by not using data analytics to drive its business decisions. He showed them examples of how his software had helped other retailers in similar situations.
"Can I ask you something?" Ryan said, as he walked into the meeting room. "How do you think you're going to compete with Amazon and Walmart in the future? They're not just competing on price - they're competing on insights. They're using data to understand their customers in ways that you can only dream of."
His first meeting was with a potential customer, a large retailer who was struggling to compete with online rivals. Ryan could have just shown them his software and told them how it could help them automate their data analysis. But instead, he decided to take a different approach.
Ryan's success was not just about the product he was selling - it was about the approach he took. By challenging his customer's assumptions and teaching them new ideas, he was able to build a relationship based on trust and credibility.