Last week, someone I don’t know sent me a book that he wrote.
After glancing at the cover, looking at the pictures inside, and checking the person out online I wasn’t too impressed. Most of what the guy has out there is him posing next to jets, with beautiful women sprawled out over luxury cars. My first thought was that he’s a Tony Robbins-wannabe, with some Tai Lopez and expensive cars added to draw people into his web.
That’s not really my style …
But one night I decided to give the book a chance. The plan was to give him at least one chapter, since he did take the time and expense of sending me a hard copy book.
Guess what? I didn’t stop at the first chapter. I kept going, and I enjoyed the book so much that I finished it in two days. It’s now full of scribbled notes and highlights, and I even invited the author to be a guest on my podcast.
Surprise, surprise.
I made the common mistake of judging a book by its cover (literally). I forgot the lesson that I learned back in my real estate days: when people arrived at open houses with crappy clothes or cars, I always made sure to not ignore them. I treated them with respect, since I discovered that a lot of wealthy people like to pretend that they don’t have money when buying big ticket items. It helps them when negotiating and it messes with salespeople’s heads.
The lesson? Never judge a book by its cover.
We all tend to judge – it’s human nature. But the next time a potential client enters your world, remember this lesson.
I’m off to a bunch of potential client calls today – if you’d like to fill your calendar with these types of calls, you need to be in this:
