So, you can’t make it to next week’s meeting because your top customer has requested a special meeting with you early in the morning and they are across town.
You have two choices.
First you can call your chapter VP and tell them you won’t be there and just miss out on a week of building your company. Or you can send a substitute to take your place at the meeting and continue to build confidence in your fellow chapter members that you take these meetings seriously. Do you know which one we suggest?
Your first thought may be that you don’t have anyone in your company that can sell the company the way you can. That’s great. This is a chance to build someone up in your company with new skill sets. You should always be doing this and now you have a reason.
Here is how you prepare your employee (friend, spouse, …) to go in your place and how you prepare your chapter to welcome them.
Give your employee an idea of what happens at the meeting. Tell them who the Showboater is going to be. Remind them to introduce themselves to the Official Greeter. Give them a question they can ask the Speaker – one that you would want to know the answer to.
It is best to do this ahead of time by inviting them to a meeting when you will also be there. It costs you an extra breakfast, and you get to introduce this person to your chapter with the purpose of letting them know that they may take your place every once in a while, at meetings in the future.
Let your employee know that you are going to ask them about who they met and what they think of the speaker’s company. This will ensure that they know you want them to participate in the meeting. They are representing you.
Give them a printed list of the Tips you sent during the last week and explain to them who the people are and something about how the Tip came about, in case they are asked.
Before the meeting, reach out to your chapter VP and the Official Greeter to let them know that you won’t be there, but that “so and so” is your substitute. Ask them to help with the introductions to the rest of the group and to take them under their wing by sitting with them if possible.
