Eddie Kee had been making the rounds at local Rotary Clubs for three months, sharing his expertise as a guest speaker. His approach was simple yet effective—each presentation typically yielded three interested prospects, with at least one representing a company with real business needs. It was at one such Rotary meeting that Eddie encountered a manufacturer facing a critical challenge that would become the foundation for a transformative business relationship.

“I have a problem,” the manufacturer approached Eddie after his presentation. The man owned a company that manufactured high-end drapes for luxury homes and offices, but his business was facing a severe threat.

“I can’t buy product because of tariffs and China’s not working today. Can AI help us?”

The manufacturer had exhausted traditional channels. He’d spent countless hours on Google searching for alternative suppliers, but the combination of tariffs and disrupted Asian supply chains had left him with dwindling options. His lead times had stretched to months, threatening his ability to serve his high-end clientele who expected both quality and timeliness.

Eddie saw the opportunity immediately. “I don’t see why it couldn’t help us,” he responded, suggesting they discuss it further over coffee. “We took a list of his bill of materials,” Eddie explained, drawing on his engineering background to speak the client’s language. “And we ran it in AI and we said, where can I buy all these materials around the world?” The AI uncovered “a bunch of companies out in the EU that he didn’t even know existed.”

Eddie’s insisted on hands-on learning.

“I made him live on AI for about 20 hours before he did it.”

He recommended his client invest in a premium AI tool, telling him, “I didn’t care if he bought ChatGPT, Co-pilot, or Google’s product, just buy one.” The client chose ChatGPT and upgraded to a higher tier after seeing the dramatic difference between Eddie’s premium capabilities and the basic public version. The AI didn’t just find suppliers, it created spreadsheets and even generated files compatible with their engineering software.

The impact on the company was massive:

• Higher quality products at lower prices than Asian suppliers
• Lead times reduced from months to days
• 40 hours per week saved across the company
• New European suppliers discovered that were previously unknown

After demonstrating the value in less than an hour of experimentation, Eddie made his pitch.

“Well, you know, I need to be paid for this.”

The manufacturer signed an $850 per month contract for 12 months on the spot. And for “basically an hour and a half of time a month,” he provides ongoing advisory services via Zoom calls. As Eddie reflected,

“Why am I wanting to do anything else but this? This is easy.”

The Art of Consultative Selling

1. Start with genuine connection: “It’s old fashioned sales and old fashioned consultative selling,” This is heart of sales. Real conversation and real connection.
2. Listen actively: “I was just sitting there and listening to him and as he’s going, my wheels are turning up here 900 miles an hour,” Eddie described.
3. Demonstrate value before discussing price: By solving a critical problem in under an hour, Eddie made the sale inevitable.
4. Create sustainable, scalable solutions: The client learned to use AI independently, making Eddie’s ongoing advisory role high-value but low-maintenance.

Eddie’s lead generation approach is similarly simple. “Going out there, dangling it in front of groups, but then when the one person starts to nibble, then I let him bite”

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