Here is the first post on a chapter from Jeffrey J Fox from his book: How to become a Rainmaker.
Never be in a meeting.
When a customer calls, they don't want to hear you are in a meeting.
Customers don't care if your are meeting with the president of the United States, the Pope, or anyone else.
Customers lose it when told you are meeting with others in your company.
Customers don't care with whom you are meeting -with one exception: It is okay if you are meeting with another customer. It's okay because being with customers, and taking care of customers, is what you and everyone else in your company is supposed to do.
If you are in a company meeting and the customer calls, always take the call.
A customer's call is an invitation to help the customer, to get to keep his or her business.
In addition to never being in a meeting, you are also never sick. You are travelling.
You are never on vacation, You are travelling, or out of the country, and will return calls as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, so- and- so is available to work with the customer.
You have never 'left for the day." You are out of the office or meeting with customers.
You are never out to lunch. You are meeting with a client.
You are never 'not in the office as yet."
You are out at a breakfast meeting with a client.
If the Rainmaker is temporarily unavailable, the customer knows where she is.
The Rainmaker is not 'in a meeting', she is in court, on a job site, travelling to a customer, on a photo shoot, giving a talk at a convention, doing research........