Make client meetings a success!

​There are two key components of business development that professionals often take too lightly.

1. Booking enough face-to-face meetings with existing and prospective clients to build fruitful business relationships, and
2. Focusing on the quality of the meetings to make sure your precious time is well invested.

I would like to touch on number 2.

As it is so often said, “people buy from people they like and trust.” Reaching that level with a prospective client is hard to do from behind the computer.

So why don’t more professionals who understand this concept, get out and do it? More importantly, why don’t they invest the time to ensure the meetings that they DO book have a better chance of being successful?

Is it laziness? Lack of know-how?  A combination of both?

I believe it to be the latter, so let’s look at how one can increase the probability of a successful meeting.

Three Words:  Preparation – Execution – Follow Up.

Preparation
How often do you just wing it in meetings with prospective clients? Even with existing clients? We are all guilty of this to varying levels. This may work with people you already know well, but for those individuals you are still trying to get to know, advanced preparation before the meeting can make a huge difference. It is all about learning more about that person and making a stronger connection.

Here are a few things to consider doing:

• Look up the individual online to see what stands out about that person. Understanding their line of work is table stakes. Look for more. Did that person recently speak at an event that is worth bringing up? Did their company or firm announce recent news that is a big deal? Do you two share mutual contacts that you saw on their LinkedIn profile? Did they go to the same undergrad or grad school as you? Are they on the board of a non-profit organization or any other organization that is important to them? Ultimately, you want to learn what is important to them, and find possible common threads between you two that can bring you closer.

 

• Teamwork. If colleagues are joining you, discuss with them prior to the meeting what the agenda is. Make sure that everyone understands the objectives of the meeting and their respective roles.

 

• Create a list of questions. Through your research think of interesting questions you can bring up in the meeting.

 
Execution
The power of listening is an underrated skill. Too many people think that in order to win the business they need to talk and impress versus listen and learn. As the old saying goes, “You have two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately.” So many potentially good meetings go south due to poor execution. Here are a few tips to consider.

• Follow the 80/20 rule as best you can. 80% listening and 20% talking. Most people enjoy talking about themselves. Great! Let them! Ask open-ended questions to generate an active conversation. Bottom line, the more you learn about the person, the less likely you come across salesy.

 

• Be aware of your body language during the meeting. Are you slouching? Are you leaning too far in? Are your arms crossed? Try to demonstrate relaxed confidence during the meeting. First impressions are made within the first few minutes of the meeting and body language plays a major role in this.

 

• Dress code. Be mindful of how you dress and try your best to emulate their business environment. Are you meeting with a Millennial executive of a tech company in Silicon Valley where jeans and a polo shirt would suffice, or are you meeting with an older executive in NYC or Washington D.C. where a suit might be more appropriate? The general rule of thumb is to error on the side of overdressing, but don’t go overboard.

 

• Eye contact. It is so important during your interaction to maintain good eye contact, especially if you are meeting with more than one person. It shows respect, confidence, and includes everyone in the conversation.

Follow up
It is amazing how many people fail to follow up with the person they met in a timely manner, if they follow up at all! Try to follow up within the next couple of days after the meeting. This is such an important part of the meeting. It demonstrates respect, interest, and how you would interact with the prospective client if they were going to hire you.

You should always be looking for reasons for follow up. It is an effective way to stay in touch and top of mind.

The moral of this article is simple – It is hard enough booking meetings with existing and prospective clients. When you do, be sure to maximize your time invested with them through proper preparation, execution and follow up.

I’m just scratching the surface on this topic and will provide tips on ways to increase your ability to book more meetings in my next article.

In the meantime, I would be curious to hear what works for you in ensuring successful business meetings.

Please share your thoughts in the comments field below!