In the interest of full disclosure, I should start out this blog by admitting that I might be just a little bit compulsive when it comes to being on time. I do not like to be late. In fact, I like to arrive 5-10 minutes early to business appointments so I can spend a few moments in my car checking e-mail and clearing my mind. Then I can focus fully on the meeting ahead.
I understand that not everyone needs that kind of time to prepare and transition. But I suspect that more people would benefit from these interludes. When I talk about this, though, it seems others feel this is unrealistic and/or a luxury of time they cannot afford. The conversation inevitably circles back to the issue of being late to meetings, no time to spare and no way to break that cycle.
I’ve observed this more frequently it seems than in years past. It’s apparent in these ways:
In some companies, this is expected and accepted as routine. When internal staff meetings routinely start late and one-on-one meetings are constantly shuffled, it becomes the norm. Soon, sellers seem to adopt the same practices…even with their customers.
As a customer, I’m not okay with this. My time is really precious to me. When I block out time, it means that I am not able to use that time for other purposes.
In my business, time is money – I bill many of my clients by the hour. So an hour set aside for a non-client meeting is an hour that’s important to me. When that hour starts passing by without the sales call I was expecting, I start thinking about the lost opportunity cost – I feel as if the no-show or late seller has robbed me of both my time and the money I could have been earning for that time.
What surprises me is how often I have to initiate the rescheduling of a meeting. My standard practice is to wait until 10 minutes after the planned start time. Then I e-mail the question, “Are we still on for this meeting?” as a forward on the original meeting planner. About 75% of the time that e-mail prompts an immediate phone call. If I don’t hear back right away, I move on because I know the meeting isn’t going to happen. Of course, later in the day I’ll hear something back about the other meeting that dragged on or the accidental double-booking or the oversight in scheduling.
Don’t get me wrong. Things happen, and salespeople are pulled a dozen directions every day. I get that. I’m actually quite understanding about these situations, despite my disappointment that I’ve lost time and can never get it back. But I can’t help but wonder: How does this play out with buyers who have never been in sales and wouldn’t be so empathetic?
This is no small matter. Sellers bristle when I ask questions like this. Some get downright defensive and sputter that customers do it, too. Since customers aren’t always on time for meetings, the justification goes that sellers don’t have to be on time either.
The problem is this: your prospects and customers appraise you, the seller, on the little things. They decide whether or not you are trustworthy based on things like how you dress, how quickly you respond to messages, what you do when a problem arises, and whether or not you respect their time. Not all customers do, but some. Enough, in fact, that being late may be risky. Being excessively late and/or frequently late may mean you’ve lost your buyer’s faith.
If this sounds harsh, just put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. How patient are you when it comes to waiting for a salesperson? How long and how often will you wait before you simply move on?
What works in the office with your co-workers won’t necessarily work with your customers. Pace yourself when it comes to setting up appointments so that you won’t be running late. Be realistic about your schedule. Push yourself to be on time every time. It does matter.