You Finally Get the Big Appt–Now What?

There are lots of advantages to having your own business. One is choosing the types of clients and projects with which you want to work. Since I’m pretty picky, I like to be the chooser. For the past 3 years, I’ve been intrigued with a San Franicisco-based company called ServiceSource. These are smart guys who took an underutilized business segment such as service renewals and designed a profitable company focused on outsourcing this function.

The maintenance renewals groups have always been an after-thought for many Inside Sales organizations. Even the talent it attracts is typically less ambitious, less sales-centric and more loyal. That’s just my perception. 

ServiceSource has paid attention to this sales segment and built an entire business model maximizing revenues on maintenance renewals. They are profitable, just received funding, and Mike Smerklo is at the helm.

So a few weeks ago, I sent out my eBlast on Qualities of an Inside Sales Winner and tracked my page views. I noticed Mike was checking us out and sent out my Thanks for Paying Attention Email. This email included a brief introduction and requested a 6-minute appointment. Mike responded immediately by forwarding my email to his administrative assistant asking her to schedule time on his calendar for a meeting with me.

Yikes. Now what do I do? I started by contacting some buddies I knew that worked at ServiceSource and asking them questions about the company and more questions about Mike’s personality. What is he like? Is he a data guy? A visionary? A no-nonsense guy? Does he know Inside Sales? Does he take risks or is he traditional? The feedback I received was consistent-it inspired me to charge forward and gave me insight on how to position my company.

I started designing my 4-6 slides, all the while expecting my appt. to be canceled, rescheduled or postponed. It’s just reality when you talk with a President of a 500-person global company, you are bound to get your appt. rescheduled. 

Finally, the day of our phone meeting arrived and his assistant confirmed we were still on. Now What? What do I want from this meeting? Do I want to get pushed back down and referred to his team? Do I want to make an impact? 

This is one of the most significant things we must think about when we finally get a few minutes with someone at this level. This goes beyond just having a call objective. It’s about creating your reality in just the few minutes you have with someone who can really make something happen. I know, we spend so much time with people who can’t make something happen that it’s odd when we finally find someone who actually can create a dramatic shift in what we do.

Be prepared to wish for something big, do your homework, listen to that sixth sense of timing and charge forward.