I'm 51. If I could go back and tell my 25-year-old self one thing about client meetings, it would be this: Stop being so helpful. I'm not saying be useless. But stop handing a prospect everything he asks for the second he asks for it, like you're working the till at Argos. "Can you send me some information?" If you say yes and nothing else, you've already lost the deal. I learned this the hard way early on. Prospect asks me to send over the full proposal. Pricing, case studies, the lot. I sent it that afternoon. Thought I was being professional, and that being quick and accommodating would win him over. Then came three months of "just reviewing it internally." Then he went with someone else. Took me far too long to realise what I'd done. I wasn't running the deal. He was. Someone always controls the frame on a sales call. If it isn't you, it's him. And you can spot it a mile off. You're giving all the information and getting none back. You're trying to convince him and he isn't budging. He won't commit to a next step. He's stringing you along and you're calling it "nurturing the lead." So here's what I'd tell my 25-year-old self: Agree what happens at the end of the call before you pitch a single thing. "Before we get into it, if we both think this is right for you by the end, shall we book in the next step there and then?" If he says yes, you're running the deal. If he won't commit to that, he was never going to commit to anything. He knows almost nothing about how you work. So he'll follow whatever process you set, as long as you set one. If you behave like his errand boy, he'll treat you like one. Stop being accommodating. Start being the one who decides how this goes.

6 things I've seen elite reps do that beginners don't: 1. They agree what happens at the end of the call before the pitch even starts 2. They'll only run a demo once every decision-maker is in the room 3. They get the prospect telling them why he needs to change, not the other way round 4. They let the prospect talk himself past his own objections 5. They never discount to get a deal over the line 6. They close the file on anyone who no-shows or goes quiet, instead of chasing them for a month

"Where did you get my number from?" Five words that make unconfident reps want the floor to swallow them. But I've closed over a billion quid from cold calls, and that question never cost me a single meeting. It’s because you hear the question, I hear what's behind it. He isn't really asking for the details. He doesn't care whether it came from LinkedIn, a database or your nan's address book. What he's actually saying is: "You're a pest." Answer the question he asked and you've agreed with him. So for God's sake, don't say "I found it on LinkedIn." And definitely don't say "I got it off a list." Now you sound like a stalker with a spreadsheet. Say this instead: "Well, most of our clients come from referrals, as you'd imagine. Happy clients lead to other happy clients. But occasionally our marketing team does turn up a few numbers from publicly available sources. We're quite exclusive about who we work with, though. We only take on people who are A, B and C." Then list your criteria. Make them high. Now, before the trolls start: "Ah, so you lie to them then, Geo?" Which part's a lie? Doesn't most of your business come from referrals? Didn't the number come from somewhere public? Don't you have standards for who you work with? If you don't, fair enough. Some people will go home with anyone. Not me. My team calls investment bankers and hedge fund managers every day. They make over 20 appointments a day between them. Their line is: "We only work with high net worth individuals who've taken financial advice before, have the basics in place, and care about the return on their money." Watch what that does to the prospect. A second ago he was thinking about what a nuisance you are. Now he's thinking, "Hang on, do I qualify?" He's the little kid at the fairground stood against the height sign, praying he's grown that last inch so they'll let him on the ride. He's justifying himself to you, not the other way round. Then you tie it off: "But try not to focus on how I've reached you. Focus on what I can do for you. So give me 240 seconds and I might just change your life." And straight into why you called. You'll always get one smart arse. "So which was I then? Referral or cold call?" Cold as ice, mate. "I haven't got that in front of me, but we can find out when we meet." Now he wants the meeting just to find out. Which, funnily enough, is why you rang him in the first place. Last thing. Some of them will be sharp and snappy. Stay calm. If what you're offering is genuinely valuable, nobody cares how you found them. If I rang you to say a supermodel needed someone to rub suntan lotion on her back, you wouldn't be asking where I got your number. You'd just be glad I thought of you.

"My rep never asks 'do you want to do it, yes or no?' He says it feels too direct." Well fire him then. Being direct is his whole fucking job. Imagine your doctor finds stage four cancer and won't mention chemo because it "feels too direct." Cheers doc, I'll see you at my funeral.