I was going to title this article “I am cleaning up in saunas”, but it perhaps sounded a bit too unsavoury. I changed it to “I must move to Scandinavia” because they love saunas over there, and for reasons that will hopefully make sense shortly
I wrote a post a while back about meeting a long-term client on a chairlift, and lately I’ve been having a similar experience in a sauna which I know sounds a bit weird but go with it. I joined a gym about six months ago, and one of the best aspects is sitting in the sauna after a workout. With nowhere to go and your time maxing out at 15 to 20 minutes, it has turned out to be a great way to strike up a yarn with other gym people.
Before anyone asks, yes, everyone has pants on (it’s at the back of the changing rooms, so it’s a male sauna). And secondly, I don’t go in there to prospect. I just enjoy a conversation to get to know new people. Naturally, the conversation often circles around to, “So what do you do?” and that simple question has already led to two opportunities and one new client.
Now, I’m not suggesting you start hanging out in saunas to hunt down leads. The point is that when you are curious and have genuine human interactions, unexpected opportunities have a habit of showing up.
My son is travelling in the UK at the moment and he loves chatting. It is hilarious what comes out of his conversations, everything from job opportunities, offers of accommodation & places to stay, and even meeting semi-famous people.
A good contact of mine, Todd, shared this story recently:
“I was stuck in one of the lounges at Ohare airport (Chicago) in the middle of winter, nothing could take off or land due to heavy snow. There were only 2 of us in the whole lounge and it was late (close to midnight).
I wondered over and started up a conversation. This guy looked fascinating and I was super curious. Turned out this guy was the equivalent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for one of the royal families in the middle east, he was managing $billions of assets and investments.
I was just a young fella at the time and was fascinated and curious. I literally was intrigued and basically interviewed him for the next 3 hours, how, who, what, why, where, when and he had an absolutely fascinating story.
At the end of it he stood up, shook both my hands and I will never forget what he said, “Todd, you are the most interesting person I have ever met. It was such a pleasure.”
He only knew 2 things about me , that I was from NZ and that my name was Todd. That’s literally all he knew about me!”
Todd’s story reminds me of one of my favourite sayings: “The more interested you are, the more interesting you will be.”
It seems many salespeople are struggling to make a genuine connection these days, and often things can be perceived as being shallow and lacking sincerity. Think of your own inbox right now stuffed with generic AI crap and automated templates. Have you ever replied to a single one?
I am receiving more cold calls than ever, and when I ask my standard question, “What do you know about our business?”, it’s almost always greeted with “no idea” or they have guessed something completely wrong.
You simply can’t automate genuine curiosity and interest, and an AI bot isn't going to build trust for you. When you show up, stay human, and ask questions because you actually want to know the answers. Authentic rapport takes care of the rest.
Until then, I’ll take a 15-minute yarn in a hot room over automated outreach every day of the week. Maybe a trip to Scandinavia isn't such a bad idea after all.
