Why show up early? Benefits of being prepared in today’s Front-Row Friday message

Happy Front-Row Friday from Orlando, Florida.  Are you a person who thinks “Showing up on time is important.”? Or, do you subscribe to “On-time is Late.” ?  I vote for the latter because there are so many benefits to showing up not on time, but early.  Today’s video message is from an in-person event that I keynoted yesterday. My stage time was 4:30 to 5:30 pm.  What time would you have showed up? I like to be super prepared for my keynotes, and the more I learn from the audience, the more I can blend in the conference vibe into my keynote. That meant, I showed up for opening remarks from my client at 8:30 am. Yup, I want to be known as an engaging speaker on stage, but also for engaging with the audience before my keynote.  And in this case….way before!  I was happy to hear my client’s morning presentation that included a table discussion. Each table was tasked with brainstorming ideas related to their industry.  That was eye-opening for me for sure. Not only did I listen to their ideas, but I actually was able to offer an idea based on an outsiders point of view. This engagement led to a more in-depth conversations during the break with the folks sitting next to me.  Once they found out I was the closing speaker, they talked about their convention they were planning for later this year. This led to possibilities of what I could offer to help them make their event epic. I didn’t mean for the morning to turn into a sales conversation, but that’s what happened! These opportunities can ONLY happen – unplanned, spontaneous, serendipitous moments if you show up early and you’re open to new connections with people.  How can you use this in your business? 

 

1. Be prepared for unexpected encounters.

2. Show up earlier than expected, just in case there is an opportunity to meet new people.

3. Engage in conversation about them, be sincerely interested in them so you can be of service. Don’t lead with selling yourself, lead with learning about them. 

 

When you do these three things, have positive expectation that something good will come out of it! Remember don’t lead with selling, lead with connecting by asking open ended questions about them. And, maybe a sales opportunity will organically appear.  You never know where those connections will lead. Enjoy today’s video.