Doctors and other professionals tend to practice a rule: they spend only a certain amount of time with people before they moveon. That may not be good for us, but it tends to work for them.
We as business owners need to be cautious of how our time is spent. Most of us are salespeople whether we want to believe it or not. We prospect our clients and customers then we present our pitch; in other words, we throw out the bait. But we must be careful and understand that if the fish are not biting we need to move on.
From my experience, people really do not need a lot of time to decide if they want something or not. If they take too long, they are wasting your precious time, time that you could be spending on others.
You need to get to the point when you engage your customers, there is no need to waste their time or yours. This rule of time should not be used just for customers, it should be taken into account when approaching others in business relationships and networking. Stay clear of those people who simply want to drain you of information, yet fail to reciprocate. Keep it moving.
Beware of people who want your services for free. It’s okay to have a small circle that you share services and advice with, but be in tune to the fact that there are individuals who simply do not value what you have to offer.
I have experienced people that call me up wanting my service for free or next to nothing, then go and pay someone else for the same service.
Time is money and money is time. When you lose one, you have lost both. If you don’t value your time who will?
