That billboard!

Musings from Dennis #45: Licensing sales people are always looking for new leads for new businesses. Such was the case when I was looking for a footwear licensee for some of our newer Disney properties when the cab I was in passed by a huge billboard at the side of a huge KL mall. It seemed to be a reputable footwear company and so I took down the telephone number. The following week back in Singapore I made a cold call and the person in charge was extremely polite to meet me but I had to fly up north to meet him and his team. We agreed to have dinner together whatever the outcome so I was all pumped up. We met for the first time and the intros began. But sadly my pitch went downhill 5 minutes into the meeting and it was apparent that no one was interested. It was already the end of the day too so everyone started to pack up and leave the meeting room, and so I started shutting down my laptop as well with my host politely waiting for me. As I reached into my laptop bag I found an A4 printed colour photo of our office showroom and showed it to him, inviting him to come over and visit us when he could. He glared at it and said “you license pirates?” I looked back at the picture and now noticed some t-shirts on display with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie visuals on them. Yes I said and a part 2 movie is coming… what happened next completely surprised me. He called everyone back to the room and said “we found our Pirates IP”! One thing led to another and they signed this IP with me instead of my originally offered ones! The rest is history and we have been friends to this day. Isn’t it amazing when you work towards something and with a plan in mind, yet find yourself changing course completely midstream, and with amazing results? Also never diss that humble signboard as that could be the means to your next deal! And oh did I mention that the dinner was especially nice and delish?