I read this yesterday and smiled.
I thought to myself, “If Hollande can get passed over for meetings (before he became President), so can a lot of other people.”
On a regular day, I receive a couple of requests for ‘meetings’. These are meetings for business, casual, “I want to ask you something”, etc etc purposes. Also, there are the usual ‘phone call’ chat meeting requests.
I reject most meeting requests.
My problem about most meetings are the following issues:
There is never a real ‘agenda’ to discuss in a meeting. It’s all misty, cloudy, airy, fairy…
My HDFC bankers always want to come and ‘meet’ me.
“Why”, I ask?
They say, “Because they haven’t met in a while; there is a new person on the team that they want to introduce me to…” etc etc.
That’s a truck load of bunk.
I think most of these bankers ‘have to meet’ people as part of their daily agenda and keep looking for bakras to catch.
I know my bank account. I know how to use an ATM. I know how to sell and buy stocks and securities. Then why should I meet anyone?!
The agenda turns out to be different than what was stated.
I agreed to do a meeting with Opera – the browser Company because a good friend who is associated with them.
The idea I had in mind was to understand what Opera is trying to achieve in a ‘non java’ phone environment (Android and iPhone) and how they would get users to download and use their browser despite Android and iPhones coming pre-fitted with their own browsers.
However, the meeting turned out to be some sales guys from the Opera Bangalore office trying to sell me ‘downloads’ of apps via Opera deck placements and also how ‘creative’ ad units were being used by other Companies operating in the app space.
A meeting initially intended to be a ‘meeting of minds and ideas’ turned out to be a dumb sales pitch!
People don’t do homework when they come for meetings.
I meet people who don’t know who does what in a Company.
There is a laziness in typing out people’s names on google and reading about them before going to meet them!
I have met people who have pitched me technology, engineering and software services, when in fact I am clueless about these issues!
I am an accountant!
This is important when you flip this issue and examine how you go for meetings.
Do you really know who you are meeting? Know means know.
Trust me, once in a while, when someone mentions a snippet of a blog I wrote or some information, that means that the person has indeed looked me up and it charms me!
Decision makers should meet decision makers. Proposal pushers should meet proposal pushers. Janitors should meet janitors.
More often than I can remember, I have met people who were not decision makers but a breed of proposal pushers of the Company.
I really wonder – why did they meet me in the first place and why did they waste my time?
Now, when my colleagues or I read ‘Manager – Digital Alliances’, I assume that the person is in charge of Digital Alliances.
If, in fact, he is the valet of the office, then he should meet me in the parking lot – not in the corporate boardroom!
‘Match making’ people who do meetings, is a very important courtesy that should be extended by the person ‘accepting’ the meeting rather than the one proposing it; because only the acceptor really knows what position she enjoys and if she will be able to do justice to the meeting time of the other person!
The foreigner brigade who doesn’t speak English is the worst.
Oh, my sweet lord. I just wish people who bring their ‘foreign colleagues’ along would think twice before setting up such meetings.
Just because someone is the CEO does not mean I have to meet him!
Some of these people don’t understand an iota of English. They have flown in the night before and are half asleep, starved, bored, anxious and in desperate need of another hot shower instead of being fed data about silly Indian business trends!
I guess you’ve got my point.
Don’t meet people unless you really have to. Preserve your breath. Go take a nap. Meditate. Listen to music. Have a soda pop. I think, that if someone wants to meet you with a productive discussion, then they will reach out to you in the right manner.
So, promise me that you will meet people only when you really need to!
Do anything but waste time in silly meetings….
*****
Garima
Bingo….Enter the meeting room prepared, with clear agenda only when you really need to!
” The foreigner brigade who doesn’t speak English” bit is too gud 🙂
Pradeep Chaudhary
Superb Post as always. Most sales people would like to meet just because they have to.
Ashwin Roy Choudhary
Awesome post . So Alok , when can I meet you ? 😉
Mahesh Ranka
Awesome read, importantly said as it should be.
I have been in sales earlier (hardcore media sales) and even today one venture out to meet people, to make business. The question that a sales person battles with… Is the guy on the other side going to make a deal? or will he do something with his “friend”. The truth is many times incompetent people are in these positions and act as GATEKEEPERS. Importantly many won’t be inclined to doing anything which they have to justify (by understanding more of the subject).. they are happy to pass such opportunities OR sit on it till eternity… or send it to their AGENCY for “evaluation”, who may not be inclined or interested.
Its usually “save my ass” plan for these people – who also act as GATEKEEPERS and get mighty pissed when their bosses are directly approached.
Its also a belief… particularly in concept sales, that unless the boss takes a call, guys down the line are happy not deciding on “tough”, “new” and “different” opportunities.
So, meeting a CEO or someone really senior helps sometimes.
Its not that all sales / BD guys do it for the above said reasons.. typical sales profiles has “no. of sales calls a day”… which is so sad.. but this pushes the sales guy to meet who-ever for what-ever.
True this is can lead of waste of time…. but WHY not TAKE a CHANCE!!!
Cheers!
Mahesh
Nishant Agrawal
I see this a lot around me. People wanting to meet people for no goddamn productive reason. I know ‘bosses’ who spend their whole day in office meeting people. I find these more directionless than even sales pitching or flattering.
Mandar Joshi
Hi Alok,
Excellent piece and all are very hard facts of our business life. I have always believed in meeting of minds (Of course in context to business) and never insisted dumb meetings. Good number of times it is my experience that I ended up transacting business without even meeting a single soul from the buying side. Your communication needs to be clever and clear (Such as website, marketing collaterals, e Mails, Proposals) If you are clear in what you have to offer business does gets concluded with very less meetings.
Time is and is going to become scarce resource for all of us so lets respect our as well as other people’s time.
Kartik R
Mahesh, with what you have written, I feel, you are a true sales guy who loves his job and is good at what he does that’s rare. Keep it up 🙂
@Alok, I do a lot of meetings and hardly deny meeting someone because I believe in the “medici effect” .. If you haven’t read it already, do give it a shot.