At the beginning of the week, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of amazing women at the Christian Business Chamber December Luncheon. Our topic?
More PROFIT and More PEACE
my spin on time and financial freedom… and how they are UNDENIABLY linked. I did use words like “ruthless” and “unapologetic,” but I toned it down just a bit. You see, I FIRMLY BELIEVE and am OFTEN caught mis- quoting one of my mentors who says something like this:
Your financial success is almost EXCLUSIVELY dependent on how ruthlessly and unapologetically you protect your time.
And of course, in this presentation, I hit on some of the top time wasters. (If you’d like a copy of my notes for this presentation, just email me.) Top of MY list of TOP time wasters is this whole notion of a COFFEE DATE.
If I had five dollars for every time I’m asked to “meet for coffee” without agenda, I’d be a very rich woman without working another day in my life. But, these coffee dates are OFTEN one of the biggest time vampires we must battle.
Why?
Don’t you NEED to “build a relationship” with your prospect? Don’t you want to “connect?”
Uh…. no. Not this way, I don’t. With your assumed permission (lol…) I’m gonna go on a bit of a rant about the coffee date…. what’s wrong with it. Why it OFTEN doesn’t make sense. When you SHOULD consider it. What you must KNOW before making this part of your marketing strategy, how to say NO, and what you can do instead. You in?
Great.
- What’s MOST wrong with a “coffee date” is that they often come without an agenda and are attended by two people hoping to sell to each other, but neither of them will admit it and add their intention to the non-agenda. This leads to a lot of wasted time, a heavy dose of AWKWARD and since these “dates” rarely have a firm end time, they’ll cost you FAR MORE time than you anticipated. And, because they lack agenda, you’ll most likely walk away without the sale. And you know what happens towards the end of a too-long, unproductive coffee date?? You guessed it. Because neither of you walked away with a sale, you set ANOTHER coffee date. You call it “building relationship” or “networking.”
- Some of the time, these coffee dates don’t even make financial sense. Consider this… If you sell lipstick or a nutritional product, or a face cream… how much commission do you make on this sale? Now, subtract what you spent on coffee and gas… and you’re left with what? And what if you also attached a premium value to your time? OOOPS.. you just went WAY in the hole… and that’s IF your coffee date was a “success.” Now, don’t start shaking your head yet, more on making the financials of a coffee date work for you below…
- Okay, so let’s say you’re like most of my clients and you MAKE a good $4500 or $10000 off of each sale. Does coffee make sense then? YES. But only with well-qualified prospects and a firm agenda. To make coffee dates work for you, you MUST know THREE things: 1) The LIFETIME VALUE of your average customer; and 2) What makes a prospect a well-qualified lead; and 3) What a solid agenda looks like for meeting one. (In other words, you have to have a solid marketing and sales plan. Otherwise, you’ll end up busy and broke. (And highly caffeinated!)
- Finally, how do you say NO when people are constantly asking for a coffee date? I think it was Coach Jenn Lee who said this, “No is a complete sentence.” So, how do I say, “NO?” Just like this, “No.” =) Seriously, I always ask what their agenda is. If it’s to “chat” or get to know each other… I explain that I can’t really do that schedule-wise. If it’s that they want to talk about engaging my services, I get more information and determine (based on lifetime value, how qualified they are, and my own schedule) which response makes the most sense. It might be a quick 10 minute phone call. Or maybe it’s a longer phone call. It may even be an in person discussion with an agenda, but these are rare.
Okay, Michelle… so How do you build relationships without these time-sucking coffee and / or lunch dates? Thanks for asking. One, when I’m working my business (between 815 and 230 every day) I don’t look at it as “building relationships” although that’s CERTAINLY an enjoyable by-product of my business dealings. I fall in love with my clients. I believe in them. I root for them. I support them. I serve them. The relationships I build with my clients is nothing short of precious to me. But, I don’t confuse it with marketing. Instead, when i’m “marketing,” I’m nurturing leads… I do this through speaking, writing, social media, and more.
Will you find me at the coffee shop on occasion? You bet. I’m actually here now… writing to you in between meeting with clients. We’ll enjoy great coffee and a great atmosphere and we’ll get gobs done. Will you find me meeting with friends, past colleagues and movers-and-shakers in coffee shops? Yes. On occasion. With a firm agenda: smart conversation and a great time!
But, as an overall ongoing strategy??? Nope. So…. what are your thoughts? There are exceptions to every rule, right? Wanna talk about it over coffee?
Kidding… Have a great day!
Agreed. They can definitely be a giant waste of time, but with a little strategy they can be immensely helpful. People who say ‘networking doesn’t work’ (when it clearly works for MANY others in their industry)… they just don’t know how to network. I do find it hard to say no, unless it is someone I’ve never even met before. I’ll have to work on that!
Exactly! Thanks for weighing in, Timorah!