Sun was a fledgling company and was fighting Apollo for a deal with Computervision. They worked for months, then one day Vinod got a call from a Computervision representative notifying them that they had chosen Apollo.
Apparently, Computervision had made the decision long ago.
By now, there were Computervision reps from Europe who had arrived at Apollo for technical training.
Here's what Vinod did.
"I took over. By 6:00 p.m. I had sent off a letter, Federal Express to 30 people at Computervision. I said we would do anything for their business. I didn't go home; I had my wife bring my clothes to the office, and I caught a red- eye to Boston. The next morning, I was in the Computervision lobby, making phone calls, trying to see someone. Nobody would talk to me."
After 50 phone calls and two days of non-stop work, he got through to the VP of Sales and Marketing. Vinod threw out Apollo and signed the deal with Computervision.
The rest, for Sun, is history. Source (unaffiliated with them - I just love the story): https://bnoopy.typepad.com/bnoopy/2004/09/persistence_pay_1.html
Wherever you are in your journey, remember to keep going when things get hard.
Apparently, Computervision had made the decision long ago.
By now, there were Computervision reps from Europe who had arrived at Apollo for technical training.
Here's what Vinod did.
"I took over. By 6:00 p.m. I had sent off a letter, Federal Express to 30 people at Computervision. I said we would do anything for their business. I didn't go home; I had my wife bring my clothes to the office, and I caught a red- eye to Boston. The next morning, I was in the Computervision lobby, making phone calls, trying to see someone. Nobody would talk to me."
After 50 phone calls and two days of non-stop work, he got through to the VP of Sales and Marketing. Vinod threw out Apollo and signed the deal with Computervision.
The rest, for Sun, is history. Source (unaffiliated with them - I just love the story): https://bnoopy.typepad.com/bnoopy/2004/09/persistence_pay_1.html
Wherever you are in your journey, remember to keep going when things get hard.