How I Got Past the Real Gatekeeper and Did a Cold Walk-In On The CEO of FedEx
Do you let this guy stop you from getting the deal?
Years ago I had a scheduled an appointment with the VP of sales for FedEx. I had done everything right…found his pain, set an agenda, confirmed the appointment and tied it down to make sure it didn’t get canceled. He knew I was flying in to meet with him and had confirmed the night before. However when I showed up for the appointment he wasn’t there. I was concerned because he had confirmed and I didn’t believe anyone would miss it unless an emergency happened. I had his assistant track him down and she found him at home. He said he decided not to come in that day and that was it. So now I had a few hours before my flight out and I decided to make the best of the situation. I pulled out my org chart that I had made and started calling around. Everyone was either in meetings or out of the office. So I decided to shoot for the moon and do a cold walk-in on the CEO, Fred Smith.
With a little detective work that even Scotland Yard would have been proud of I found out that the CEO was in town and was in his office that day. I found out what building he was in and took the campus bus over to his building. When I walked in it was about 10am and the security was tight. I knew I couldn’t just ask for the CEO so I asked for the Sales VP who I knew was not there because he stood me up. So the security guard started tracking down the sales VP and after a few calls got nowhere as I knew would happen. What this did was gave me time to get to know the security guard. While I was getting to know him I asked him where he liked to go for lunch and he named his favorite place. I asked when he liked to go and if it was crowded because I liked to avoid the rush and he told me when his lunch break was. So guess what. I left and returned when he was at lunch. When I walked up to security I said “Hey you aren’t Joe…oh yea it’s his lunch time”. The point is I sounded like I belonged there! I told the security guard that I was there to meet with Fred Smith and they told me to take the elevator to the 6th floor and he was the hallway on the right. Earlier I had found out his assistant’s name so when I got up to his office and she was there I told her I was there to meet with Fred. It was a good idea and I almost made it all the way but unfortunately at the last minute they realized what had happened and I was excorted out by security.
Ok so I didn’t actually get the meeting but what surprised me was how far I could get with a little tenacity and creativity. My question for you is have you ever pushed the limit and been thrown out of an office building? I am willing to bet the most of the time you are “playing safe”. I say go for it…shoot for the moon and see just how far you can get. You may be surprised.
Good Luck!
