Timing it right and right timing.

A friend came for a visit yesterday (a good excuse not to update my blog). No, I was not sick and yes I was happy to play host for my guest, initially, but after 4 hours and my guest wasn’t showing any sign to say goodbye I began to feel despair. I wasn’t planning to be rude and throw him out and yet I have other things to attend and my free time as a businessman is limited. A time for myself sometimes can be a luxury.

For another 3 hours I have to endure his presence before his final exit which takes about another hour. Oh yes, I cooked up lots of excuses, made funny body gestures and variety of tricks but to no avail. He even went to the kitchen and brewed his coffee. Was it me being too nice or this guy was taking advantage of me.

I remember, another friend who always show up at my house without prior appointment, sometimes he came and expect to chat with me until the wee hours (that if I was in luck because he used to just overnight for a couple of days without my chance for approval). How I got rid of him? I told him never ever come near me (that’s rude but at least a good riddance as I see no other choice), nevertheless, the whole incident made me feel bad. FYI, the two friends are fellow entrepreneurs.

My point here, in life or in business, it’s crucial to plan your time of entry and exit as cleverly as possible especially if there are involvement of others. Say, you are doing some selling to a busy director in big corporation or a Government office, make sure you plan an exit before you over consume his/her valuable time no matter how friendly your potential client is, or you risk losing a client after all. If you have to wait for your turn before your meeting, don’t show your impatience.

If possible, always make sure you make an appointment before your meeting unless it’s not official. If you don’t have any appointment but you manage to pass the secretary, make the meeting as short as possible like 'hello, just drop bye and goodbye' routine. Never intimidate him/her with your power talk, maybe a hint is ok. At least, you make yourself noticeable.

Talking about timing, you also have to understand that timing is everything in business. For instance, if you do business with the Government, failure to learn their periodic cycle of financial availability will be a big mistake. They hardly buy anything at certain months (depending on departments) especially before their budget release. However, at certain months, selling will become much easier.

My advice, as an entrepreneur, not only you must plan your timing of entry and exit, nonetheless, you have to understand the proper timing of your business. For my two friends, please read my post and take my point of view in an open mind. Lastly, respect the time and time will respect you.

Hmmmm....I am late for dinner....yeah, bad timing.