He walked into the office carrying a sleek black briefcase and handed out cards from a business card holder. No one was certain, but they suspected the leather from the case matched that of the card holder. He repressed a chuckle as he watched their eyes darting from the larger to the smaller item. One thing was certain: Both the case and the holder had his initials in clean, bold black letters which stood out against the polished silver plates. No one was going to forget his name today. He knew that the meeting would not be brief. They escorted him into a conference room. Several other people entered. Hand shakes circulated.
An hour later they were still talking of the potential benefits of using his company’s services. He straightened his tie, held delicately by his tie clip, and flattened his collar, which had a small pin from his alma mater. The tie’s bright blue fabric with light yellow stripes matched the graphics on the PowerPoint presentation he was giving. This was no accident; the tie had been given to him by his company. The color scheme would be noticed, if only subconsciously. As the meeting finished, he removed his glasses and wiped the lenses with a silken handkerchief, also of matching corporate colors. More hand shakes circulated. As he exited the building, he walked with the confidence of a man who knew the sale was his. It helped to be taken so seriously, he thought as he unlocked his car and put the briefcase in the back seat, remembering the day it was given to him by his company. It helped to look the part of a No. 1 salesperson, he mused as he loosened the tie.
The drive back to the office was fast and when he returned to his desk, the message light was blinking. “We’d like to move ahead with your proposal,” the voice said, “what’s the next step?”
