Attention, Sales Guy: Forget Fashionably Late
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“Ok great – We will see you at 9:00am at my office.”
The meeting time is set and the location has been agreed upon. You’ve spent weeks preparing a presentation for this customer, and have probably reviewed most details in your head several times over.
But what time are you going to show up? Is 8:45am too early? Should you try to show up exactly at 9:00am?
Regardless of industry, there is no easy answer. People have different definitions of “on time” as I am sure you’ve figured out if you have ever tried to organize a nice dinner out for a group. Let’s say you made a reservation for 6:00pm. Certain people perceive 6:15pm to be right on time, while others show up at 5:45pm. As they say, different strokes for different folks.
The bottom line for a sales guy (or gal) is that you need to know which type of person your customer is. First impressions are everything and your idea of on time is most likely different than theirs.
My go-to strategy for getting a read on my prospects is to ask them about what else they have scheduled on the day of our meeting. Here are two examples of how they might answer:
Answer #1: “I eat breakfast at 7:14am each and every day which is followed by a 10 minute meeting with my assistant at 7:40am. From there I have meetings at 8:00am, 8:39am, and 9:05am.”
Answer #2: “I am getting breakfast with my wife around 7:00am, and then have a couple of meetings before yours. If they run a bit late I will call ahead to the front desk so you know right away. I doubt they will run much past 9:00am.”
Can you tell which customer might perceive you as being late if you show up at 9:05am to your 9:00am meeting? Set yourself up for sales success. Use your conversations in advance to be aware of what type of person you are meeting with and no matter what, forget “fashionably late.”
This week, Hopeless Remantic Anthony Stanley speaks as one sales guy to another. Want your customers’ business? It takes preparation…even in the minutes before you meet. Join the conversation below or email Anthony directly!
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