How many times have you received a phone call or an email from a colleague that you recently met at a networking event expressing how interested they are in learning about your business? If you distribute business cards at events probably more than you'll like to admit. If you're a virginpreneur, you're so excited that someone is interested in learning about your business that you allow them to lead the conversation by providing you with 2 time slots to select from and the nearest Starbucks address to meet.
After you end the call, you're so excited that you have to share the great news that you have a one on one scheduled with a potential client. So, you go down your list and call or text your significant other, family members, and friends. After you spread the good news, you rehearse what you're going to say, how you're going to deliver it, and even envision what you're going to wear.
The day of your meeting is finally here. You wake up extra early and full of energy. The excitement that you're feeling reminds you of your first day of school when you were a child. You iron your clothes, shine your shoes, practice your script and watch the clock as the hours countdown. You even leave your house early enough that you have 15 extra minutes to recite your 60 second commercial, tag line, and brief description of all the services and products that you offer.
Ten minutes before your scheduled appointment you walk in Starbucks, look around to see if you identify any familiar faces, order a Grande Hot Chocolate, and grab a seat at the nearest available table awaiting for your appointment. He walks in and greets you with a handshake and notion toward the table that he thinks you're sitting at for clarity before he sits his portfolio down. He offers to purchase you a beverage knowing that you arrived a few minutes earlier and have already placed your order he attempts anyway to appear like a great guy.
He starts off by saying, " Thanks for meeting me I really appreciate it" then lingers into small talk. After about 2 minutes or so when you're all relaxed and ready to present your script to him that you've been rehearsing all week and all morning long he opens his portfolio and flips out a colorful binder and begins to tell you all about his business. He discusses the history, the products they offer, the compensation package and how his business opportunity complements what you're doing. He also tells you that he has meetings scheduled with your competitors but he wanted to give you the opportunity to take advantage of it first. Plus, his business idea is such an ideal match with your current business that you can just sell his products to your existing customers. He tells you this creates a win-win situation and if you don't take advantage of this opportunity you're really losing out. He even attempts to pull the substantial income game. Yes, I did call it a game. We all know it and some of us have used it or may still be using it in our business. Work part-time but receive full time compensation. So, you're sitting here ANNOYED! Thinking to yourself "Are you Serious". Yes, he is. To top the cake, he begins to rebuttal for every objection you have and then after rebuttal 3 he offers to give you 24 hours to sleep on it and then he'll followup. You agree but you have no intentions ever answering his phone call or replying back to his email AGAIN. You didn't even get a chance to mention your business not once, you paid for your own beverage, you wasted a perfectly good outfit, and he didn't even give you a referral.
Truthfully, the only person that you should be upset with is yourself. YES, yourself. Why? Because you failed to qualify that prospect before scheduling an appointment. Well, I didn't know that I was suppose to qualify my appointments. Yes, you should qualify every appointment and calculate your ROI for every networking function that you attend. If you are not protective of your time you can't expect for others to be.
When tables turn because they will, before scheduling a 1 on 1 with a potential client be sure to be honest about your appointment setting goal, know as much about them as possible, only recommend products and services that will fulfill THEIR need, and always compensate them for their time. Compensation could be given in the form of referrals, incentives, FREE marketing products and even relevant marketing/ business information.
