How the Pro’s Book a Meeting (or Date!)

TODAY you have a friend or client who has been trying to get something on the calendar with you for over a month. Dinner, coffee, lunch meeting, movie, cocktail. Are you thinking of that person? Yeah- you know who it is.

WHY hasn’t this happened? Why haven’t you gotten a date on the calendar? Maybe this sounds familiar:

I’m sorry- things have been SO busy at work.

I’ll call you soon and we will set it up.

Lunch? Love to! I’ll call you in the next few weeks.

Are you free sometime in April?

Absolutely! Let’s get together sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.

ARE you guilty of using one of these phrases? If so, NEWSFLASH – LAME! Unless the friend, client, or date totally SUCKS and you are trying to avoid this person, do NOT become a Vague Scheduler. Not only do you come off as unreliable, but also uninvested in the relationship.

• Imagine you’re finally able to get a HUGE potential client on the phone after ringing for months. What is the GOAL of your call? Is the goal to “touch base in next month to discuss their upcoming initiatives?” HELL NO. The GOAL is to get your ass to his/her office on Tuesday at 3pm to discuss their project face-to-face.
• The hottie from Starbucks finally GChat’s with you back and since it’s Thursday, the weekend is already filling so you’d better ask soon! Are you going to say, “Let’s do something this weekend.” HELL NO. Vague Scheduler! Not only will he/she have zero idea when the heck you want to get together, but most likely, it WON’T HAPPEN.

GET FRESH and Book the Meeting like a Pro:

1. Before you ask, have a GOAL. 3 dates and times, written down, PRE-dial, PRE-email, PRE-convo. Your goal is to gain a commitment for one of those. Got it? If the first 2 don’t work, you have a third option. Then, it’s on them.
2. Make it so and BOOK IT. Great! They accepted because you didn’t give them a choice but to look at their calendar. Don’t stop there! Either send an Outlook invite or an email to confirm.

• Client Example in Outlook invite form: “Daniel, During this time, I will be onsite at Acme Metals to discuss X, Y, and Z. I am looking forward to meeting with you and thanks for your time! Regards, Nadene”
• Friend Example in Email: “Hey Jen! It was awesome catching up with you today and I’m so glad we put a time on the books for sushi. I will see you on Tuesday, April 6 at 7:00pm. Looking forward to it! PEACE, Nadene”

1. STOP accepting BS from a VS! If you know a serious Vague Scheduler, don’t take their BS anymore. Their constant, “We SO need to get together!” that never happens weighs on you and is an annoyance. End it! The next time your VS throws it out there, I challenge you to throw it back: “Yes! We do need to get together- how about next Wednesday at 5:30pm at Panera?” They may crap their pants out of surprise but it shows YOU MEAN BUSINESS.

Make it happen and get a FRESH scheduler makeover and remember- If it ain’t on the books, IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!