Every now and then a door-to-door salesman comes by Breakout to talk with us. Having had to walk into people's offices on cold calls in previous jobs and remembering the misery, I always take the time to talk with them. Recently, a guy came in wanting to introduce himself and inquire about setting up a meeting to talk further. Since I had a gap in my schedule I offered to meet with him right then. I thought this was a pretty good offer. He comes in to set up a meeting and the stars aligned perfectly for him. But rather than accept the invitation to sit down and talk for a few minutes, he told me that he could't because he had to get on a conference call. Additionally, he wanted to go back and prepare some things before he met with me to ensure he didn't waste our time. I was a little surprised but said it was fine to call me later.

I'm no stranger to sales processes and I don't think he did anything wrong at all. I like going into meetings prepared and I appreciated that he was thoughtful in his approach. Who knows, maybe the conference call was with a big client and he was about to secure a large piece of business. At the same time, though, I couldn't get out of my head that I was ready and willing to meet with him and he said no. It got me thinking about opportunities of all sorts. How often do the gates open and we delay because we want to get things perfect or because we want to be sure we're 100% prepared. I've done it. I'm sure you have, too. Let's keep our eyes open. Good opportunities rarely fall right in our lap, but when they do let's be sure to pounce on them.