A lot of my time is spend setting up meetings and chats with people I have never met before. This always carries a certain amount of risk and anxiety for both parties. Here are a few things that I do to mitigate the issues. 

  •  I set up the appointment by phone whenever possible so I can get a confirmed time with both diaries open at the same time.
  • If the meeting has been set up more than a week in advance I confirm the meeting the day before via email or sms
  • I try to meet at a venue that has table numbers so I can sms my location just before the time to assist in finding the other person.
I do a thorough check online so I can get as much information as possible on that person and their business before the meeting. This is not anything cloak-and-dagger but just good preparation. Here are some cool tools to use that give great results. Try them on yourself and see what info is freely available to others about you. Mmm… could be interesting

  •  Do a Google search on your name, this normally covers the top social media sites and any recent mention in web articles
  • Use www.123people.com to do a web search
  • Use www.pipl.com for a comprehensive search
  • I also have Xobni.com linked to my outlook that gives an instant review of anyone who send me email.

There are so many scam out there on the web, I like to make sure that I am not wasting my time driving to a venue and meeting people who are just out to con me out of my time and money. Be prepared and for warned.

This may also be a good time to clean up your act with those photos and videos that are floating around the web that could just harm your next big business deal.