Peady’s Selling Engagement sponsored by IRD Prospector
Last week our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was kept waiting for around 3 hours by President Donald Trump – apparently, Trump had more pressing business commitments and knew that Turnbull would wait.
Truth is he had no choice!
Has that ever happened to you? Been kept waiting by a client or prospective client? Most times you have no choice either.
King Louis XVII of France said “Punctuality is the courtesy of kings”. But, nearly 200 years later, some businesspeople still haven’t perfected this courtesy.
If you have an appointment to meet someone, and that person is late, how long should you wait? Should you wait at all?
Why are they late?
If you are meeting a retailer and you can clearly see they are with a customer I’d settle in for the wait, however if you are simply told “she’s busy” or “in a meeting” maybe that’s a different situation.
In my opinion 15-20 minutes is about the limit. After that time politely let support staff such as the receptionist know you are leaving and that you’ll contact the customer later. Waiting longer than 20 minutes smacks of desperation – that said there are always exceptions.
Punctuality is an important sign of respect. It’s almost like honesty an intrinsic value that expresses one’s sense of another’s worth. No matter where you are on the “food chain”, there is a basic level of interpersonal courtesy, which is reciprocal. It applies to all people all the time regardless of anyone’s given role and regardless of the economic climate.
On the other hand, if you are called by someone who is running late, you can restart the clock at the time of the call, or take the opportunity to reschedule.
While you are waiting
Rather than checking your phone, speak with the receptionist or assistant. What do they know about the person you are meeting? How is the company doing? What do they like about working there? These questions can get you a lot of interesting information.
If the staff are busy have a look around the office or reception area. Are there brochures or awards that might give you an insight into the company? Get a feel for the atmosphere and watch staff as they pass through – do they look happy?
Finally, go over the questions you’ve prepared for the meeting. Now that you have some more information can you make them more specific?
The bottom line to this post is simple: Your time is just as valuable as theirs, so insist on mutual respect.
Until next week, good selling!!
About the author
Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.
He can be contacted at [email protected]
