I was in trouble the day my self-published book appeared in the local Barnes & Noble. I had staked out a spot with a clear view of my book. Each time a customer entered the aisle, I was certain they would be drawn to the book’s clever title, glance at the attractive author photo and rush to the cash register. Sadly nobody did. If I ever hoped to make a sale, much less build a successful small press, I needed to start marketing.

A book tour is one way to create buzz. But traveling across the country is prohibitively expensive for a bootstrapped publisher. To afford a book tour meant finding a partner. The ideal partner would be a Fortune 500 Company with pockets deep enough to sponsor a cross-country tour. But if such a company existed, why would they want to work with me – an unknown author and first-time entrepreneur? It seemed impossible.

A few months later I was at a regional educator’s conference to give a presentation. There was a tiny exhibit hall with a dozen companies displaying their products. But one company stood out. It was Sallie Mae, the leading provider of funding for higher education and the Fortune 500 partner of my dreams. Only one problem. The man working the booth was handing out free copies of a competitor’s book!

What rotten luck. My dream partner was supporting my competitor. I almost walked away. But then I decided to at least get a free copy of my competitor’s book. As the man from Sallie Mae handed me the book I said jokingly, “If you are ever unhappy with this author, I just wrote a book on the same topic and would love to work with you.” He looked surprised and replied, “Actually, we’re not happy, and I’m just trying to give away as many books as I can so I don’t have to haul any back to the office.”

An email a few days later led to a call which turned into a meeting. Before the end of the month, we reached an agreement and the following spring I was speaking at bookstores and schools across the country with all expenses paid through a generous sponsorship.

Today my focus is on growing the publishing company which publishes books by over half a dozen authors. The sponsorship that Sallie Mae provided for my book tour even grew into a partnership to publish their first official book, “Sallie Mae’s How to Pay for College.” But for all of the successes, it still haunts me how close it came to never happening. Not only was the meeting a chance encounter, but the decision to make a pitch instead of walk away was made in a split second.

Fortune 500 companies don’t care how small you are, they only care about the value you bring to their business. Partnering with a Fortune 500 is no different than any other business relationship. It comes down to making that one-to-one connection with the right person. Never discount anyone. The person working the booth turned out to be a key decision maker and highly influential manager without whom a deal would never have happened.