Have you rescheduled a meeting with a prospect lately? In my business, that could be an individual seeking help in their career search or a potential new company client. What were your reasons? In a personal contact intensive business it’s easy to decide you need to stay, as my old boss Pete Wolfe used to say, “closer to the $$” and move on from your plan.

You know, that well-crafted annual plan broken all the way down to monthly, weekly and even daily goals you promptly filed away. It was designed to further existing relationships and build new ones. Instead you consistently cancel meetings and calls, especially with new introductions where you can’t see how this ever turns into a return for you.

I’m so glad I didn’t cancel the breakfast with Steve Stolz, then an executive with Sara Lee during their relocation of Food Group Headquarters to Cincinnati in the early 2000’s. He was referred as an individual as he was considering exercising his option to exit the company and simply wanted advice about Greater Cincinnati executive employment market conditions. From what we thought we knew the recruiting for the team at Sara Lee was done. I could have told him over the phone that Cincinnati is typically a very resilient market but post 9/11 there were relatively few executive level finance openings. After our breakfast he shared they really needed help with as many as 20 critical accounting and finance roles and “was I interested?” I contained my outward excitement and we negotiated a multiple hire fee agreement and filled 15 of those positions over the next 9 months. Many more examples I could elaborate on – First Financial Bank, National City Bank (now part of PNC), Panini North America, Michelman, Inc., TGW International and more.

The lesson I strive to keep in mind – take the call or meeting, be available to help someone regardless of their ability to engage you on an assignment and there will be a return on your investment.

The photo is from April 17, a first meeting for me and my granddaughter with her then less than 24 hours old little brother.