Sales Strategy

Tardiness Is An Inexcusable Sales Sin April 16, 2015 (0 comments)

Burlington, ON—Is seven minutes within the window of acceptable lateness? 

Maybe it’s ok for a cocktail party, but definitely not for a sales meeting. And one hapless sales rep discovered the hard way that some prospects simply won’t wait at all if you’re not there when you said you’d be. Being late is a sign of disrespect, not only for the customer’s time but also for your colleagues when you show up late to work, says this blog on Fearless Selling.

Showing up late suggests you don’t value the other person’s time as much as your own, and if the other person is a customer or a prospect, it also suggests you won’t be much more reliable after the sale is made. Being on time is critical, whether it’s a face-to-face meeting with a client or a webinar or on Skype.

Frank Perdue, the legendary “chicken man,” was a stickler for promptness. Once, he even drove five hours from Perdue’s headquarters in Easton, MD, to New York City just to meet a Perdue rig at the Bronx food distribution center. The rig was on time—the driver pulled in five minutes before Perdue’s appointed time slot of 5:00 a.m.. Perdue greeted his driver, then casually asked how long it takes to change a flat tire on an 18-wheeler. “About an hour,” replied the driver.

“Then you’d better leave an hour earlier,” snapped Perdue in return. The tough man who made a tender chicken also made sure it was a timely chicken.

Top image: doyouwanttohearmore.blogspot.com