When people claim they’re “busy”, what they’re really saying is you’re not a priority.
The CEO of a healthcare company reached out to me for help with reputation management because negative information appears when you Google his company.
He eventually showed up 30 minutes late to the meeting. I typically wait 10 minutes as a courtesy, but his colleague asked me to keep waiting.
After analyzing his situation, I estimated the amount of work required would be over $70,000.
He said it was worth it to him and trusted me, since I’ve done similar work for other executives. He promised to get back to me the following week.
I set a reminder to follow-up in 2 weeks (since I like to give people a buffer of double what they expect).
3 reminders later and his colleague keeps claiming he’s “busy”.
I’d not do this deal even if he offered $140,000– double my original estimate.
Because if his behavior so far is how he’d behave as a client, it will be an uphill battle to get results.
And I don’t want to chase people down– nor does anyone like to be chased.
I make it a rule to never take on clients who use being “busy” as an excuse to be rude.
Since we are all “busy”– but always attend to what’s important to us.
Ever since I learned this lesson, working with clients has become a joy that I look forward to.
And the good clients pay a lot more, treat you a lot better, and don’t expect as much as these “busy” people.
