"Intro meeting keeps running over - sometimes to an hour - and then the person winds up not seeing the point of the longer meeting."

Question from a subscriber: "The first step in my process is to have an "Intro" meeting for 15 minutes where we decide if we should schedule the 45 minute "Discovery" meeting. However it keeps running over - sometimes to an hour - and then the person winds up not seeing the point of the longer meeting."

Yup, because you confused them and you lost control of the process.

Take these actions TODAY:

• Bring clarity into the process from day one.

• State upfront what the objective of the 15 minute meeting is right away, and stick to it.

• Say this: "The objective of this meeting is to determine if you, Claire, and I should sit down for the 45 minute Discovery meeting. To discern this, I need to ask you three questions about your wealth and financial history. We'll start at 9AM and you should be out of here by 9:15."

• After the 15 minutes, if you want to move on with them, say this: "Based on what I am hearing, it sounds as if our services and your needs pretty much line up. To deliver the retirement planning you'll need, we would charge somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 a year. The next steps is the Discovery meeting, which is 45 minutes long, during which time I'll learn more about your specific needs and will be able to outline what the specific scope of work looks like. Do you want to set up the Discovery meeting for next week, or would you like to pass?"

Do not rely on the prospect to control time. That is your job. It shows competence, skill, and allows them to have more confidence in you.

If you have trouble sticking to a 15 minute meeting, practice on some friends.

Yeah?

Yah.

BOOM - there ya go! There's today's Daily tip for ya.

P.S. Is anyone else an Andy Panko fan?

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