This morning I met a client at his office in what was expected to be a 20-minute meeting. It turned into an hour and a half. We talked about life and family more than business. It has always seemed to me that the more you get to know the client on a personal level, the better the relationship. That is true in business as well as personal life. That said, people can always tell if you are in it just to sell something but for me that has never been an issue. I truly enjoy knowing people on a personal level with or without the business component.

As we were talking, the three most important things in his office were hand drawings his three children made for him when they were young. Those three drawings were the only items framed on the wall. We talked about giving, charities and our mutual love for our families. I must think that because of the bond we developed personally there may be some business opportunities. If not, that is ok as well.

Last week I visited one of my oldest friends who is also a client. We have known each other for 29 years and his family has been in my home and our family has been in his. We know each other’s family, history children and have a great respect for each other. He is also one of three people in my life that I could call on to help if I was ever in need and vice versa.

Today when I got back to my office I looked around to see what represents the most important things to me. It’s the pictures of my family. There are 16 pictures that represent the greatest loves in my life. I have pictures of my daughters when they were little going all the way up through now. There are pictures of my wife, son in-laws and my granddaughters. When I looked around, I realized if someone came in that didn’t know me, they would quickly understand what is important to me. KT

PS,,,,,, I also have diecast models of my three dream cars. ha