Trigger Warnings (Issue 1035)

In which we are reminded to identify and monitor ‘trigger events’ that tell us when prospects or clients may be thinking about issues with which we can assist.

“Max is a hero!” A text from friends who live in a mid-sized city neighborhood. Max is their dog, an Aussie Shepherd-Corgi mix. Short legs. DEEP bark.

“At 3:30am someone drove up the alleyway next to our house, got out of their car, and started walking around our car in our little driveway. Max started barking, which woke us up, and when we opened the blinds to see what was going on, the person ran back to their car and literally sped off. In their rush to get away in the driveway, they dropped a wallet which I found this morning. I filed a police report. When the officer came out to collect the wallet, he found two drivers licenses that had been tossed on the side of the alleyway. The officer guessed that the person has successfully broken into and/or stolen cars before, given where the licenses are from. So Max saved us from being carjacked!!”

I’ll bet Max nearly tore the blinds out of the window! It’s good that he is as protective as he is. It’s a little bit much to handle sometimes and, in events like this, it’s great he has those instincts. “It’s a good thing to have him as an alarm,” they wrote.

I guess if you’re a herding dog, anything you don’t recognize is a threat to the flock. He starts with a squeaky whimpering sound, the first alert. If the “wolf” comes closer, there’s a long (five to ten second) low growl, head lowered. And then, from deep in his chest, “the bark” which sounds like it’s coming from a dog twice his size with the volume turned up.

My friends would have slept through the carjacking without their four-legged warning just as we, in our sales roles, sometimes miss sales opportunities because we miss trigger events that awaken us to the potential opportunity. It’s a good thing to have them as an alarm.

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/ .

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