Finding a humorous pop-culture reference to segue into the main point of my blog posts isn’t always easy.

I’ve been holding on to this one for months, struggling with trying to make it work without being awkward. I’m still not sure I’ve done it, so I’m just going to go for it:

In the classic TV series Miami Vice, character Izzy Moreno is a small time conman, informer and comic relief sidekick for heroes Crockett and Tubbs.

In Season One, Episode 18, titled “Made for Each Other” Izzy is tasked with setting up a deal with crime lord John Costellada, in order to bring him to justice.

Sadly, nothing Izzy offers Costellada to sweeten the deal interests him. At least, not until Izzy mentions that he possesses a stolen cement mixer truck that he needs to sell.

 

Long story short, Costellada grew up poor, and all he wanted as a kid was a Tonka Toy cement mixer to play with, but his parents couldn’t afford it. The prospect of a full-size cement mixer is a dream come true, and he takes the bait.

 

My point, and I did have one, is that it’s been my experience that what actually gets my customers excited, whether in the past when they were end users, or today as business owners and inventory managers, is often surprising.

We all walk into meetings with an expectation of what our customer’s wants and needs are.

Often, that expectation turns out to be completely wrong.

That’s why it’s important to be flexible, to actually listen to what they’re telling you, and be ready to flip the script when it becomes apparent that what it’s going to take to close the deal isn’t what you thought it was.