Don't Leave Home Without It

I don’t know about you, but there are certain things that trigger  painful memories for me.  These triggers are as diverse as the memories that are attached to them.  One of those triggers is when I use my American Express card, which is quite often.

The three years I spent as a residential real estate agent, I had several things working against me.  One thing that was less than ideal for a Realtor was that closing sales wasn’t exactly my forte. But probably my biggest liability was that I didn’t particularly enjoy showing houses.  I always struggled with not saying things like  “This is the kitchen”, “Isn’t this a lovely dining room?”  and such as that. To some extent if you’ve seen one house, you’ve seen them all.  But in spite of those liabilities since people liked me, I did pretty well. And once I had closed the deal,  I thoroughly enjoyed helping my buyers find the best financing.  I became a virtual wizard with a financial calculator. Sometime during my  third year I thought, “Why don’t I find a way to make a living with this calculator?” So I studied for and passed the Series 7 stockbroker’s exam.  Then I affiliated with IDS Financial Services.  Three years later American Express bought IDS and it became IDS/ American Express and then just American  Express Financial Services.  I stayed there nine more years until I left to pursue other things.

As a financial advisor I had a lot of freedom in how I found prospects and clients.  Occasionally, I would participate in trade shows to get new clients.  This particular show was at the Chattanooga Marriott Trade and  Convention Center. It wasn’t cheap, but I had high hopes for a good return on my investment.  The fee for participation was $400 for the two-day event.  And then for a drawing, I provided a $200.00 American Express gift card. I wasn’t too concerned about the money because of the potential for the event. This trade show was for registered pharmacists all over the state of Tennessee.  And I had an accumulation program that was perfect  for them.  To participate the pharmacist needed only to sign a form to  draft money into this tax-advantaged account.  I was going to make out like a bandit.

The event went better than expected.  Besides the sign up for the drawing, I had candy and give aways to entice them to the table and to start a conversation.   I established a good rapport with the druggists and many of them signed for the drawing and expressed interest in the program I was offering  Of course, this activity included getting all their contact information.  So after two days, I had names, phone numbers and email addresses for about 150 pharmacists all over the state.  And these professionals had already expressed an interest in my program. Over the next several days I would have dozens of warm prospects to call on. Warm prospects who made a lot of money.  This box was a virtual gold mine.  At the end of the event, I drew a name and presented the  winner with the gift card.  Needless to say, I would have at least one hot prospect. I put my box of leads on the floor and packed up everything that was on the table, and I left.

As I was driving away, I  had a really good feeling about the whole experience  After all, I’m the one who found out about the show and I’m the one who registered to participate. And I’m the one who deserved all the benefits from the experience. My name was soon to be front and center on the weekly office bulletin.  But besides that good feeling I was enjoying, I also had the nagging feeling that I had forgotten  something. The further I drove that feeling got progressively worse.  About half way home it hit me. “Did I pick up my box of leads?”  I found the nearest place to pull over.  I checked the car and the leads weren’t there.  I don’t know what panic feels like to you.  For me it starts at the base of my spine and then quickly crawls up my torso into my neck.  Then panic explodes into my synapses and takes over my entire nervous system.  I turned around and drove back to the Trade Center as quickly as possible.  I parked in front of the building and ran into the large room where the event was held. I found  someone who was cleaning up and asked him about my box.  He said, “By now, everything left in the room is in the dumpster.”  I wasn’t sure, but I thought he said, “Everything left in the room is in the dumpster.”  Yes, that’s exactly what he said.

They say that everything happens for a reason.  I don’t normally believe that, but at least in this case, it was true.   This happened because I was a complete idiot.  The whole, entire reason for investing the $600.00 and the two days was to come home with that box of leads.  But  more important than my lost investment  were the relationships and financial windfall I had lost.  How could I possibly measure that?  I was over the initial  shock within two to three years.  Then it was just a matter of living with the consequences. 

So I’m sure you’re thinking, “If it bothers you so much, why don't you use another credit card?”  Because I haven’t told you what happened with my Visa.