One of my clients was an in-house labor counsel for a Fortune-500 company. She had been with a law firm for 10 years prior to her current job. Having made numerous pitches before starting her in-house position, she knew the type of research and approaches that would resonate.
Now, wearing a different hat, she found herself frustrated with how many outside vendors approached her, knowing nothing about their company’s products or competitors. She enforced a five-minute rule: If the salesperson did not demonstrate knowledge of their needs, challenges, and opportunities within the first five minutes of the meeting, out they went.
I asked her to tell me more about her rule. She was proud to say that the vendors who met with her learned the message quickly , and they “got right to it.” She found a similar rule was a useful tool among her own team as well.
Their meetings:
· Got right to the point
· Did not waste anyone’s time, and
· Resulted in clear and concise decisions.
One of my clients was an in-house labor counsel for a Fortune-500 company. She had been with a law firm for 10 years prior to her current job. Having made numerous pitches before starting her in-house position, she knew the type of research and approaches that would resonate.
Now, wearing a different hat, she found herself frustrated with how many outside vendors approached her, knowing nothing about their company’s products or competitors. She enforced a five-minute rule: If the salesperson did not demonstrate knowledge of their needs, challenges, and opportunities within the first five minutes of the meeting, out they went.
I asked her to tell me more about her rule. She was proud to say that the vendors who met with her learned the message quickly , and they “got right to it.” She found a similar rule was a useful tool among her own team as well.
Their meetings:
· Got right to the point
· Did not waste anyone’s time, and
· Resulted in clear and concise decisions.