I’m sitting in a Panera Bread in Orlando, FL right now writing this post, and even though that may not sound like a big deal, it is to me. You see, if you didn’t already know this, I live in Rock Hill, SC which is a quiet little suburb of Charlotte, NC.
I’m in Orlando today because I was meeting with a prospect I’ve been trying to get some business from for quite some time. Now, the big deal really isn’t the fact that I’m in Orlando. The big deal is how I got here.
You see, I woke up this morning at 2:30am, in Rock Hill, SC, to hit the road for a 12pm meeting with this prospect, in Orlando, FL.
That’s right, I didn’t fly. I drove. All 8+ hours of it and just so I could sit with a prospect for no more than 2 hours and talk about MAYBE doing business together.
Now, I know it sounds like a totally crazy idea, but in my mind it was something I absolutely HAD to do. See, I’ve been working on building a relationship with this gentleman for quite some time now so I knew he was qualified. And he’s a bit scatter brained and ADD so if I wanted his undivided attention I knew I had to be sitting in front of him face to face.
No problem, right? Not so. He’s on the road about 200+ days a year so getting in front of him is no small feat. When he told me he’d be in Orlando, FL today and would have a few hours to sit and chat I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
So, what are the marketing lessons to learn from this?
First, know that I very carefully qualified this potential opportunity. I knew he’d absolutely be a good candidate for my services, plus he has the potential to be a very big add for my business so I was willing to take steps I wouldn’t take with most prospects.
Second, something you just have to do in person. As much as I talk about creating marketing systems for generating leads, screening and converting those leads, and then maximizing your customer relationships, absolutely NOTHING beats sitting face to face with your prospect. You just can’t get the same level of communication via email, direct mail, or the telephone you can when you sit down together.
And third, be willing to do big things to land the big fish. Sure I drove 8 hours to get here and am getting ready to turn around and drive another 8 to get home, but with the way the meeting went, it will be 16 hours VERY WELL spent.
Oh yeah, and why did I drive instead of fly? Because it was a last minute meeting (I found out about it on Wednesday) and I couldn’t really stomach paying over $700 for an airline ticket when it’ll end up costing me less than $100 in food and gas. Heh, maybe when I’ve got Donald Trump type money it won’t be that big of a deal. 