My Mother and I recently flew to Durango, Co. While boarding the plane, I over heard two very excited young boys whispering about seeing Johnny Bench sitting in first class as they walked by. I had no idea who Johnny was so I didn’t give it much thought until I noticed one of the young boys sitting across the aisle from us. He was telling his Mother that Johnny Bench was just 10 rows in front of them. So now I was getting curious… I finally had to ask who is Johnny Bench! The boy looked surprised and then said, “He’s the best catcher in baseball”. Then he got serious and said to me, “he played for the Cincinnati Reds and was a fourteen time all-star. He’s the National Baseball Hall of Fame!”

But what really excited him

But what really excited him was this next bit of information. He raised his little hand and said

“he’s the only man on earth that can hold five baseballs in one hand!!”

Once we were airborne I looked up Johnny Bench on my phone and found his picture. I asked my Mother to move her little legs so that I could get out of our row and into the aisle. She looked at me and asked, “where are you going?” I told her to get a signed autograph for my son (who was a catcher) and talk to him about residual income. My little mom begged me not to approach him saying,

“oh no Nancy don’t go!”

Dismissing her concern

Dismissing her concern, I walked up the aisle and headed straight for where Johnny was sitting. Once I got there I knelt down and faced the back of the place. All heads were leaning into the aisle from both sides waiting to see what was happening. Then I looked at him, I asked, “are you Johnny Bench the famous baseball catcher?”

And he nodded his head in his baseball cap, I then asked him a quick, quiet question… as there was a very OLD lady sitting next to him. I mouthed, “is that your wife?” He mouthed back, “F-you!” Then we both smiled real big and laughed.

“What are you doing with your life after baseball?” I asked. He said he was speaking, signing autographs and still playing golf. That’s when I asked him, “have you heard of residual income, you know, mail box money?”

He was looking for a company he could represent

He said that he was just now looking for a company he could represent! I had a company from California and it was nutritional products AND they were looking for a spokesperson! As I quickly told him this, I grabbed my two business cards and a pen that I had carried with me just for this type of moment. I knew my time was limited since I was blocking the aisle so I quickly asked for the best number to reach him or his staff for in order to setup a call. He paused and then said, “I will give you my 800 number as long as you don’t tell anyone else on this plane that I am Johnny Bench!” I swore I wouldn’t, but did manage to ask for that autograph for my son, Aaron!

Then with a big smile I asked him if he returned his calls? And of course he said, “Yes, I do. My manager will call you back.” So if I miss calling you I know you will remember me, and return my call! Perfect.

As I walked back to my seat

As I walked back to my seat with his number and my son’s autograph all these little boys were looking at me. I could not hold back my excitement, and I pointed up front and said that “is Johnny Bench the baseball catcher!” Immediately a rush of little boys ran forward to get his autograph.

As my Mother and I were walking through the airport headed to baggage claim I saw him meeting his driver on the other side of the jet way. I began jumping up and down yelling at him, “Johnny, Johnny this is my Mother Mary!!”

And he yelled back,

“Mary, my CONDOLENCES!”

What a great guy, eh?!

LESSONS LEARNED:

  1. Asking if someone has heard of your products or company is not being pushy. Active Recruiting, prospecting, is what makes you successful in the long run.
  2. Getting out of your comfort zone is necessary for growth. For example, making an approach to a high profile/famous person makes approaching a regular person a piece of cake.
  3. When you do what most people won’t do you will have what most people won’t have.