As I’m sure you know, I love to travel. I have a map hanging in my hallway on which I place a pushpin to track places I’ve been, and it is getting difficult to see past the pushpins in Europe! One of the trips I had planned for 2020 was a two-week bike and barge trip in Croatia in late April. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, my trip was cancelled.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to Croatia, but you can’t fly there directly from the United States. Yesterday afternoon was supposed to be the day that I flew to Zürich as the first stop on my journey. My cousin Linda said that we had to reserve some time in Switzerland for a day trip to Liechtenstein so that I could add that pushpin to my travel map. I thought that was a great idea, and incorporated it into our plans.
While I am obviously disappointed to miss out on a trip I was looking forward to, that disappointment has been tempered by this amazing time of abundant inspiration that I have been experiencing at home. This morning while working from home, I had the most amazing “you can’t make this shit up” moment, and I just knew I had to write a post about it ASAP!
Wait, what sales call?
At 8:55 this morning, I received a message from my assistant that there was a sales call scheduled for 9:00 a.m., and the employee who was supposed to be handling the call wasn’t online. To make sure we had it covered, I scrambled to ensure I knew all of the pertinent information I’d need to have a successful consultation. I began the meeting feeling more than a little flustered. Once the call began, though, I realized there was a reason I needed to be on this call today.
As soon as I logged into the GoToMeeting with the client, I was blown away. The location of the potential client was listed underneath where their video would appear on my computer, and they were calling in from, you guessed it… Liechtenstein. What are the odds? If my trip to Croatia wouldn’t have been cancelled, I would have arrived in Liechtenstein the same week as this consultation!
Hit the (travel wall) pin on the head!
I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone from Liechtenstein, or even spoken to someone who is from the country! Due to the amazing synchronicity of all of these events lining up, I couldn’t help but share the story of my cancelled plans to visit his country with this potential client. It might be premature, but I think this whole experience helped me to hit the pin on the head call and turn this potential client into a customer.
The instant rapport that was established because of my connection with (almost) visiting this country completely lifted me out of the flustered state I was in when the call began, and enabled me to have an easy, productive, and focused conversation. It really turned my morning around.
But wait, there's more!
After I got off of the call, I received this message from my cousin Linda. You really can’t make this shit up!
Linda is right: I will have to wait a little bit longer to “pin” this country on my travel map (2021, here I come!). But it feels so amazing to have experienced this wonderful connection to Liechtenstein...from the comfort of my office chair.