Within 2 Weeks Max

We’ve all been there.  You excitedly book in a first meeting with a brand new prospect on the phone.  It’s in your diary for a few weeks.  You fire off confirmation of time, place and agenda.  You make other plans fit around the date.  Then inexplicably, when you call up for directions or such like, no-one’s heard of you.

Just now I’ve had a similar case.  My tele-seller originally booked in a new meeting at the end of Feb.  She proudly told me of the appointment.  The date though, was in June.  I explained that in my experience, any meeting slated for anytime beyond the next fortnight always gets canned.  Always.  I suggested she call back, explain this politely, and bring it forward.

The non-event reasons can be manifold, but usually, if a meeting is for so far off, then it’ll get forgotten or squashed out.

When she got hold of the prospect and followed my advice, he actually laughed.  He totally accepted the logic and on the basis he had ‘changes’, ‘holiday’, or ‘busy-times’ afoot, brought in forward a touch.  Snag was though, only by a month.

Guess what happened when this morning, I called up for directions to get to my 3 o’clock on time…

There is a simple moral.  If a meeting’s worth having, then it’s worth having now.  Anything booked for longer than two-weeks ahead is a no-no.  The alternative close should at all times be adhered to along the lines of “when would suit you best, next week or the week after?”