It was a little over 15 years ago when I landed my first big meeting with a very big prospect. I cold-called him via FAX (hey, it was the early 90s). He was a government executive whose name appeared on book covers and in lights at conferences. I was 26 years old, working for an IT consulting firm with a substantial government practice. I wasn’t a business developer; I was just an eager consultant—a newbie—with an idea.