Half of Success is Just Showing up!
I run Mastermind groups and several clients asked this question, “Why are people late or they don’t show up when they register for an event?”
A variation of that same question is, “Don’t they understand how much time, energy and money we invest?”
We can expend this question to include: Why won’t people return phone call, especially where a business relationship exists? I am not talking about a cold call.
I do not believe these are time management issues. I think they are behavioral issues: lack of focus, lack of clarity on what is important, maybe laziness.
Those questions are legitimate and in my opinion they reflect very badly on people who exhibit this behaviors.
When I have a sales call with a prospect I try to never be late. I believe it is a sign of disrespect when I am late. There are times when I am late. It may be a traffic accident, a call running longer than expected, etc. When I am in that situation, I call the person I am planning to meet and ask them if they want to continue with the meeting or reschedule.
I was on a radio interview promoting my latest book, Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant, and I was on the call exactly at 3 PM. She commented on my time management. I told her if I were not on time it would be the ultimate of disrespect to her and her schedule. She is busy. She has a radio program to run. She is dependent on the time slot the radio gives her. If I am late it puts her in the rough spot.
I was watching 60 Minutes and they were profiling Alabama football coach Nick Sabin. One of his player was late for a team meeting and Sabin asked him why, “I could not get my earring out,” was his response. Sabin asked him this question, “Do you care more about your earring than this football team?”
Sabin was interrupted by someone who could not get his earrings out? Really. Shows you where his priorities are!
When you are late or do not show for a meeting or event, think of the message you are sending about who you are? Think of what the prospect thinks if you are late: are you dependable, can I trust you to do what you say you will do, will you blow me off again in the future, what will happen when I share with you my problems? They have a busy day and you are negatively impacting their schedule.
There are four rules all (sales) professional should implement daily:
- Do what you say you will do.
- Do it when you say it will be done.
- Don’t be late.
- Be a good listener.
As the old saying goes, “half of success is just showing up.”
