In this transcript, Clay Clark (Great Business Coach speaker of choice for Hewlett Packard, Maytag University, and more) and Deedra Determan (Founder of three websites visited by 100,000 moms monthly) discuss the importance of effectively managing time on Thrive15.com, the best sales training program.
In this transcript, Clay Clark (Great Business Coach speaker of choice for Hewlett Packard, Maytag University, and more) and Deedra Determan (Founder of three websites visited by 100,000 moms monthly) discuss the importance of effectively managing time on Thrive15.com, the best sales training program.Clay Clark: So, Brian Tracy though, he says this, and this is huge. He says, “People going nowhere want company.”
Deedra D: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Clay Clark: So the question is from a business coach, how do you avoid negative people, and keep them out of your schedule?
I want to give an example.
Deedra D: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Clay Clark: I have somebody, recently, who’s an adult woman. And she says, “We really need to meet, because I do not agree with the way that the news station portrayed such and such.” I do not work at the news station, just for full disclosure. Neither do you, and does any PR Firm, we don’t own the news station. And then it’s like, “I just feel like there’s a liberal bias,” we’ll let’s just say that there is a liberal bias, or a conservative bias, what are we going to do about it? Can you shed some light on this for a business coach and the listeners.
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: The same person, “I can’t keep today’s appointment. I know today’s appointment is at such and such time, but I need more time, can I meet in an hour?”
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: So the appointment was scheduled from three to four, now they want to meet from five to six. So the same person always moves appointments from five to six, and then the same person says, “I overslept, can we move this meeting?” And it becomes this drama zone of constant rescheduling, constant missing, fighting against a news station, whatever it be. I’m sure you’ve had a client like that.
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: I’m sure you had somebody buy an ad for 918 Moms [crosstalk 01:26] who was like that, or verbally abusive client, an employee who knows no happiness.
Deedra D: Yeah.
Clay Clark: Can you tell a business coach how do you set boundaries to avoid hanging out with negative people? What do you do?
Deedra D: Yeah, you know negativity is not going to get you anywhere. So I think surrounding yourself … definitely if you have someone on your staff like that, that has to be taken care of. Because it can bring the whole dynamic down for everyone, you have about bad apple that can bring everybody down. Client missing meetings or all that, it’s okay, I can meet with you next week at this time, you know? You can’t keep [crosstalk 01:59]. I’m learning that. I’m learning sales training on Thrive15.com as well.
Clay Clark: That’s my move. And it’s not because I don’t care, it’s because … I’m learning this from Clifton Taulbert, last night I learned it some more. But I’m learning that I have to choose whether I care more about my family, or the client.
Deedra D: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Clay Clark: So let’s my wife is the client, which she’s writing an incredible book right now, so sometime she could be. But [unless 02:27] my wife’s the client, I can’t reschedule.
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: Because otherwise I’m saying, with my words, with my actions that I don’t care as much as I think I do.
Deedra D: Yeah. Or I make it a phone call, you know? You missed your time or whatever, make it a quick phone call that we can fit in, or it’s the next week.
Clay Clark: Now, principle number twelve. Always work via appointment. Anybody who’s ever had the misfortune of being my assistant or somebody who’s had to keep up with me, I always say, “Always set an appointment.” I don’t care who it is. Friend of mine calling, “Hey is Clay there?”, set an appointment, speaking event, set an appointment, air conditioning, set an appointment. I like to have appointed time, and I like to set it for the next day.
Deedra D: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Clay Clark: So that way I don’t feel like I’m reactionary.
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: Every entrepreneur I know, works via appointment. Even on sales calls, they’ll say, “Well, what’s a good time to meet?”
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: It seems like the appointment culture, is the success culture. And there is another group that never sets an appointment. And we’ll say things like, “I’ll get back with you. Can I get back with you? Let’s connect soon. Call me tomorrow, call me next week.” You now are an appointment person.
Deedra D: I’m an appointment person [crosstalk 03:39].
Clay Clark: You used to probably be when you first started in the corporate world?
Deedra D: Yeah.
Clay Clark: Did you say, “Well, call me back”?
Deedra D: Well in sales, you know, is you’re kind of at the mercy of your client, so I felt like I was always, what was good for them? You know I actually had a guy that would say, “Wednesday mornings are good, but text me.” He wouldn’t set a time, had to text him that morning to see what would be good.
Clay Clark: [crosstalk 03:58].
Deedra D: [crosstalk 03:58] at his mercy all morning.
Clay Clark: I had a guy who wanted to be involved with one of our companies that did that every time. It would always be “Well could you text me on Wednesday to remind me about calling you?” It’s bizarre. So now you always set appointments [crosstalk 04:15].
Deedra D: I set appointments now.
Clay Clark: What if you’re trying to sell an ad? What if I’m an advertiser, and I’m wanting to buy an ad from your company your representing? Do you say, “Well what’s a good time to meet?”
Deedra D: What’s a good time to meet, but I make myself more available in that situation. You know, more tailored to the client.
Clay Clark: So I’m going to role play a scenario.
Deedra D: Okay.
Clay Clark: Here. You are a tough to wrangle … You’re somebody that owns a business, you own a muffler shop.
Deedra D: Okay.
Clay Clark: You own a muffler shop, and I’m trying to set an appointment to book you to sell something to you.
Deedra D: You’re going to sell to me?
Clay Clark: Yeah, I’m going to try to convince you to set an appointment. And you are going to do the whole, I’m going to call you back, game.
Deedra D: Okay.
Clay Clark: So here we go.
And our conversation has been awesome up to this point, just throwing that out there. [inaudible 04:57].
Okay, so when would be a good time to touch base? I mean, do you work during the day or night, Deedra? When’s a good time to meet up with you?
Deedra D: Yes, I work during the day and I only have a couple of hours during the week that are free.
Clay Clark: Well today, you know, today being Monday. How does tomorrow look, either at eleven or one?
Deedra D: I’m actually booked during that time, but I can do Thursday at eight-thirty?
Clay Clark: So Thursday at eight-thirty?
Deedra D: I have thirty minutes only though.
Clay Clark: So Thursday, eight-thirty, and real quick, that’s the morning?
Deedra D: Morning.
Clay Clark: Okay as a business coach I have to know, you a big coffee drinker?
Deedra D: No, I don’t drink coffee.
Clay Clark: Do you drink red bull?
Deedra D: No.
Clay Clark: Do you drink anything non-organic?
Deedra D: No.
Clay Clark: Okay, well I’ll be there bringing healthy food. [We’ll see ya 05:36].
That’s it. I want you to know, when you try to set up an appointment, there’s a general rule when you’re doing sales, most people aren’t used to setting appointments, so they’ll always be like, “Well yeah, just call me tomorrow, we’ll connect sometime.”
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: Trust your business coach, next time you go to church, if you go to church, or a synagogue, or a house of non-religion. When you go there, you say, “Hey, we should get together sometime.” Most people will say, yeah we should, and then you don’t get together. And it’s just this bogus sort of “Hey guy, we should get together!” And you keep seeing the same person at the UPS store, “Hey guy, we should get together sometime!” “We should!” But you don’t. You think mom’s keep seeing the same mom’s at the park, “We should get our kid’s together!” “We should!” But no one ever does. But if you say, “How about we do it tonight at six.” The friend says ” … I would have to check.” And all of a sudden, things begin to happen.
Deedra D: Right.
Clay Clark: So it’s just a whole thing about throwing out a specific time. I get this asked a lot as a business coach.
Deedra D: Right.