Building a sales pipeline is some of the hardest work I’ve ever done.  It requires diligence, perseverance, patience, research, preparation, and sometimes a thick skin. I find that I perform best in an initial meeting with a new prospect if I drive to the location of the meeting well ahead of time, then locate a local coffee shop in which to decompress and collect my thoughts. Thirty to forty five minutes sitting in a Starbucks may sound like time wasted to some; for me it is time well spent as I put the stress of metropolitan traffic behind me and focus on the task at hand.

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” ~ Alexander Graham Bell via BrainyQuote.com

Decompression and prep time before a new business meeting

Tagged: coffee, diligence, hard work, meeting preparation, perseverence, preparation, research, sales, salesmanship, Starbucks, vocation