The circumstances that brought Sara to my office that day were well-calculated, but I’m sure they seemed mysterious to her. I was working on a large deal with a vendor and we had trouble agreeing on a price. I love to haggle, especially when I have a lot of leverage, but I began to understand my account rep was up against it and didn’t have much left to offer. I asked if there was anything of value that he could give to sweeten the deal for me. I had plenty of money available to close, but I needed a little something extra to feel good about it.
“Uh, Mr. Roberts, I’m not exactly comfortable with where this conversation is going. We have a strict policy against any kind of, uh, financial incentives with individuals to complete a deal.”
“I’m not asking for a bribe, Greg. I don’t want money or gifts.”
“Oh, that’s great then. What would be something you would be interested in?”
I had come into Greg’s office a couple times during this process and had noticed a mousey little thing who they had stuck in a corner. She brought me coffee one time and I saw some potential.