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Go herd your cats

Today, I broke a cardinal sin of the sales world. I chose to postpone a meeting with a prospect.

Old school sales manuals will typically command you to meet with the client, regardless of.....well, just regardless. I do not hold this belief.

I need an hour, at least, to accomplish an introduction. I've timed it, and even when I am as succinct as possible, it takes about an hour. The prospect, when explaining his truly busy day, had thirty minutes. He had committed to meet with me, and in a very uncommon way, decided to stick to his commit. I suggested we reschedule. I explained to him that I wanted to be seen as a resource and not a nuisance. If he had an immediate need for the services I offer, we could have a quick call. If not, we could set something up for next week.

A meeting would impede on his other commitments, and we had time to discover long term needs....I strive to be a long-term partner, versus a quick gain vendor.

The prospect replied with the (paraphrased) comment of "Now, I really want to meet with you." I understood his situation, I was amazed that he was still willing to commit to our meeting time, and I made a judgement call.

I suggested that he go herd his cats, and rescheduled the meeting. I sense that this earned his respect.

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