Coach’s Corner

When you call a prospective client, would you say that your purpose is to get a meeting? What if you reframe the purpose of your call to determine if a meeting makes sense? You might think there's a subtle difference—hardly. We think the benefits are considerable.

Here are the top three advantages to this strategy:

• Avoids premature pivots: Rather than searching for opportunities to ask for a first meeting, a more fluid conversation evolves. Executed well, there is no abrupt, potentially uncomfortable pivot. Scheduling a get-together becomes a natural extension of the discussion.
• Gains you a deeper understanding: Your genuine curiosity manifests through thoughtful follow-up questions to help you discover more about the person, their circumstances and the degree to which you may be of value. This approach can help you assess whether getting together is a sensible next step.
• Improves your time efficiency: Time is one of your most valuable assets. Long-shot first meetings reduce the amount of time available for you to serve existing clients. This reframing of purpose will serve as an anti-selection mechanism, increasing the probability that those you meet are more likely to be a good fit for the both of you.

Bottom Line: Reframing the purpose of prospecting calls from getting a meeting to exploring together whether a meeting might make sense can have dramatic and beneficial implications for your new-client pipeline.