The meeting looked completely ordinary. The opportunity wasn't. That's the danger of missing client calls—you never know which one changes everything. And you may never know the cost of a missed meeting…
What's the Real Cost of a Missed Meeting?
Let's talk today about the cost of a missed meeting and how making that meeting netted me an easy $30k!
A few years ago, one of my clients said something every entrepreneur loves to hear:
“Hey Bill, I've got a friend you should talk to.”
Now, if you've been in business for any length of time, you know referrals are gold. People don't hand out referrals unless you've done a good job and earned their trust.
So we set up a call.
At the time, I had absolutely no idea what the opportunity might be worth. For all I knew, it could have been a quick consultation, a small project, or a complete waste of time. That's the funny thing about opportunities—they almost never arrive with a price tag attached.
You don't know which conversations matter until after they've happened.
Fortunately, I showed up.
We had a great conversation. One meeting led to another. We discussed goals, timelines, expectations, and how I could help.
That single referral eventually turned into a year-long project worth $30,000.
Not bad for a meeting that started with, “You should talk to my friend.”
But every now and then I think about what could have happened if I had missed that first call.
The Trust Damage You Never See Coming
What if Google Calendar had popped up one of its little notifications while I was focused on something else?
What if I was in the middle of writing, answering emails, working on a client project, or chasing some shiny object that seemed important at the time?
What if I simply never saw the reminder?
Could I have salvaged the opportunity?
Maybe.
But let's be realistic.
If you're looking to hire someone and they don't even show up to the first meeting, what conclusion are you going to draw?
You're probably not thinking, “I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
You're thinking:
- “If this guy can't make a meeting, how is he going to hit deadlines?”
- “If he missed this appointment, what else is he going to miss?”
- “Do I really want to trust my business to somebody who can't keep track of his own schedule?”
Is it fair? Well, yes, but it sure would have stinged. AND, it's human nature. People make judgments.
Trust takes months to build and about two seconds to damage.
Why a Reliable Meeting Alarm Changes Everything
The scary part is that if I had missed that meeting, I probably never would have known what I lost.
Nobody would have called me and said: “Bill, congratulations. You just missed out on $30,000 because you didn't notice a calendar notification.”
The opportunity would have simply disappeared. The prospect would have moved on. The referral would have gone cold.
And I would have spent the rest of my life not knowing that one missed meeting cost me a relationship.
That's why I take meeting reminders seriously now. I know that I have missed meetings in the past due to weak Google Calendar notifications. Not anymore!
Because every entrepreneur has a meeting on their calendar today that looks completely ordinary. Most of them won't change your life. But one of them might.
And the problem is you don't know which one.