Eric is a complex character. He is highly intelligent and blessed with good looks. Although many down play it, good looks gets you further in the business world than you might imagine.
Sales is about talking to strangers. In a few short minutes, a good salesman sizes up the surroundings as well as the prospective customer. He or she must try to pattern the sales presentation around the type of person the prospect is. If that person is a salt-of-the-earth type person, one who is involved in physical labor for instance, it is best to come across like a regular guy. Talking about last weeks football game is more likely to gain confidence than all the feature and benefit speeches put together.
Sales is about liking the salesperson. A prospect wont always buy from someone they like, but you can bet unless they are in dire straits, they will not buy from someone they don’t like. Its a flaw of human nature that people like to talk to good looking people. Many people will “allow” a sales person to manipulate them if they like the person. A good looking person will use this asset to their advantage.
Eric is naturally good-looking. He takes care of his body and would be the type of person that not only watches how much he eats, he probably watches what he eats. Health foods and exercise are parts of his daily life. He would not be the type to polish his nails but he would have professional manicures and possibly have his nails buffed. He is meticulous about his appearance.
Eric has a high regard for family. He overindulges his children and is determined to be a part of their lives. He preaches family values to everyone. Some feel too much. The family value speech doesn’t seem congruent with an individual who works 12 and 18 hour days. It definitely doesn’t mesh with those who know his womanizing habits. Many feel it s “Jimmy Swaggart misdirection” to try to throw people off the trail or maybe he is trying to convince himself.
Eric made his money by being cunning and working hard. His only vice if there is one is his attraction to beautiful women. This is also his Achilles heel.
Eric is used to controlling and manipulating people as his trade in business. He treats his people good but they are there to do his bidding. To make sure he gets the most beautiful women with profound sexual powers, he buys them. Eric Carson frequents prostitutes.
He doesn’t look at it from a moral standpoint. He has a physical need that he wants to satisfy as efficiently as possible. He is not looking for emotional bonds, he has that with his wife and family. All he is looking for is release. He doesn’t look at it as right or wrong or moral or immoral. He looks at it as a business transaction.
Does that make him a bad man? Many would say yes. Some might say he is buying human flesh. Eric might say he is only renting it, no different than he is renting the brains of his programming staff or the services of his private pilot. He pays more than the prevailing rate to make sure the associate is satisfied with the arrangement.
Writing Eric was a challenge. I wanted him to seem not only intelligent but street smart. His character had to find brilliant solutions to business problems. In real life, many of these solutions are right out in the open but the average person doesn’t grasp them.
My experience in life tells me that many people do not respect the CEO’s of their companies. They feel they are doing all the work while the CEO is sitting back taking credit for their labors. I tried to create that emotion in a conversation between Eddie and Eric where Eddie questions Eric’s ability to run a computer company when he doesn’t even know about a computing concept taught in first semester computer courses.
Eric views his position as one whose goal is to get the most out of his employees. He doesn’t take such disrespect personally. He tries to turn every negative into a positive. He tries to manipulate and control people without their knowledge. He tries to exploit every weakness and capitalize on every asset. That’s his job.
So what do we know about Eric? He is smart and good looking. He is charming yet manipulative. His true objectives are never revealed. You never know whether to trust him or not. His only real allegiance appears to be to his family.
And he is a womanizer…
Do you like Eric or not? Does he have any redeeming qualities? Would you trust him?
Is Eric Carson good or evil?