Microscheduling That Key Prospect Meeting Through Nano-Agendaring

I’m not necessarily condoning this outright. Yet there is something within its structure that on specific occasion might just move the latest time management fad of micro-scheduling towards a decent sales tool.

Let me first state that microscheduling in its newly coined form is nothing new. Nor accompanying “revelations” such as the isolating at daybreak the essential to-do “three-task rule”. Far from it. I witnessed with my own eyes the diaries of legal executives – significantly before the existence of anything even closely resembling a precursor to electronic event recording – which were broken down throughout each day into six-minute slots.

Later, around the turn of the century, the humble Pomodoro seduced spirited support.

For the current app addict, this way of life is about splitting your days up into small portions then, crucially, sticking to them. Eye-roll ready, with examples of “drinking tea”, “power nap” and naturally, “including three-minute breaks to go to the toilet”.

The need for such precision flows from the belief of such ‘findings’ into email impact as “it takes up to 23 minutes to regain your focus each time you get distracted”. Duly minimise the chance of such criminality occurring.

Can this trend permeate selling scheduling?

For key meeting micro-agenda-setting, perhaps read afresh, nano-agendaring.

A prospect – possibly one with whom your relationship is not yet as firm as you’d prefer – tells you they’ve got a lot on, so they can only give you half-hour.

Why not send them your suggested microagenda?

Who needs to waste time on small talk, or – one of my absolute pet peeves – start a meeting talking about a random issue with no clue whatsoever as to its context or where it fits in with overall decision efficacy.

Advice on agendas abounds. In this case, you might want to tee up the right attendees, get the prospect to do some work beforehand helping you to qualify them, or prime them for a decision. Remember, that this method isn’t the typical five or six points. It will likely work best with a couple of dozen at least. It’d also be ideal if this becomes a mutual agenda. Where you achieve the reply of modification and collaboratively you settle on a final drafting.