How to Create a Successful First Meeting

So you’ve got your game face on and you’ve got all of the necessary items in order to go out there and greet the world. You’ve done your homework, gotten specific and clear about where your services exactly meet up with your clients’ problems, and the word is getting out there.

What happens next is what matters the most. You’ve booked an appointment with someone who is interested in what you have to offer. Now what?

There are many things you can do to prepare for a meeting with a client. Some of them are obvious:

• Find out what you can in advance about the client. Check out the website, google search, and see if the company or individual has a profile on Facebook or Linked In. A lot of information is at your fingertips and it is worth your time (not to mention courtesy to your potential client) to prepare for your meeting.
• Assess the client’s needs. From what you already know, how could you help?
• Get your materials in order. Make sure you are prepared to provide information on your company and services. I am surprised how many suppliers I have met with over the years have to scramble to provide basic information.

Building this into your routine is an easy way to make sure you are having the most effective contact with your potential client. But in my opinion, there are two essential ingredients that many over-eager business owners miss: clear intention, and authenticity.

As you prepare for your meeting, be clear on what you intend to achieve. I’m not talking about “closing the sale” or “hitting your target”. If you’ve been on the receiving end of that equation before, you know how a salesperson like that makes you feel. In service-based businesses, your client will feel whether you are a right fit for them or not, much quicker than they will conclude this logically. Think about the feeling and atmosphere you want to create. Sincerely creating a rapport between you by listening to them, putting them at ease, and really being curious and helpful will do more for your business prospects than anything else.

Catch yourself if your mind is racing ahead to think of something “smart” to say, or feeling rushed to impress the person. This means you are not engaging and actively listening. All purchasing decisions are made on emotion first, reason later. Your client hires you because of how you make him or her feel as well as what you can do. There’s plenty of time in your follow up to supply your features, prices and all the detail that we often rush into.

The other ingredient in your secret sauce? You! Let your personality shine and don’t be afraid to let your Teflon corporate shield down. Designing a business of your own comes with many rewards and one of the biggest perks is being able to be yourself, and put your own best foot forward, not your employers’. Be your best self. It is more than enough.

Could Your Business Survive the What If… Test?

Place yourself in one or more of these scenarios. What if:

• You or someone whose care you are responsible for became ill or incapacitated in some way, severely restricting or even eliminating your ability to do your usual work?
• A staff or team member quit abruptly, perhaps even at a most critical time?
• You lost your biggest client, or more than one, because a project got shelved, or they simply can’t afford to pay you?
• You had a huge unexpected yet necessary expense, something you absolutely had to pay for, or your health, safety or ability to earn was put in jeopardy?

You might think it won’t happen, or that your positive, entrepreneurial outlook would prevail or ward off this evil misfortune. But the reality is that these kinds of unwelcome surprises can happen at any time.

In fact, over a four month period, I’ve experienced three of them.  An accident on a business trip left me unable to walk or drive a car (and literally required me to “put my feet up” to heal). This happened not very long after falling off my horse and breaking two ribs. A large consulting project was put on hold, and my own medical bills were eclipsed by a very large vet bill when our dog swallowed a toothpick and required life-saving surgery. During the same period, my husband was rear-ended on the highway and everyone in the family got sick. We’ve had more “bad” experiences in the last while than we’ve had in our entire lives up to this point.

What I can tell you is that it exposed some weak chinks in my entrepreneurial and financial armour, but also highlighted where the planning and design of my business really worked well.

Due to the way I intentionally set up my business, it had no effect on working with my small business clients.  We work together by phone and email. I schedule all of my appointments on certain days of the week, and leave ample time in the other days for marketing and life. It makes no difference where I am, or if I can get around. My mission to eliminate geography (I live in Central Canada, and the majority of my clients are in the USA), create a predictable and flexible schedule, and work in the comfort of my home was successful. If I had operated a highly localized, in-person business, this accident could have been disastrous.

Secondly, because my marketing is simple and automated, and I have an assistant to coordinate my newsletter and liaise with my clients, I could conserve my energy for my clients (revenue generating) and writing and reaching out to potential clients and partners (lead generating). Having a functioning team served me well and this is one expense that is priceless in value. Find good help and pay your suppliers first, even if you have to tighten your own belt.

That’s not to say that everything went perfectly. I had to cancel prior commitments for speaking and my own workshops for the fall, and losing a large project in the middle of this while having some unexpected large expenses put me in an unprecedented, uncomfortable but not devastating spot. This is where it pays to have more than one source of revenue in your business. Having only one service and few clients is a game of cash flow roulette. Fortunately I have more than one stream of income and this means I always have options to pursue.

However, I realized that I had not been as consistent in my marketing of some of my services last year, for a variety of reasons. This was exacerbated when I had the accident and had less time and energy to catch up. Had I been more consistent going into the summer period, I could have replaced the lost project more quickly. On the bright side, I have a good network and can choose to put more time into different profit centers of my business.

Of course, there are all the prudent ideas like having a business overdraft or line of credit, insuring yourself for critical illness or disability, and having all of your files and processes documented so that you or a team member could be seamlessly replaced without wreaking operational havoc. These are all smart actions to take, and I wish I could say I am an A+ example. But I am a work in progress, and this series of events highlighted some areas for improvement.

I was also reminded of the importance of a healthy mindset. Four months and counting of dependency on other people for basic activities we take for granted, and simply not being able to do things you want to do take a toll on even the most positive of outlooks. While I remained positive and thankful most of the time, I flirted with the dark side on more than one occasion.  But I realized how resilient and resourceful I am, and this characteristic is something that I need as an entrepreneur. There is always something you can do if you ask yourself what opportunities you have that are within your power, right now. Feeling enthusiasm for what I can do feels much better than feeling powerless about what I can’t. Remembering that there are others who have much bigger challenges than I do is another. I agree with positive psychologist Martin Zeligman that I am a “flexible optimist”.

 A side benefit to life’s unpleasant attention-getters? You quickly adjust your priorities and get immediately clear on your focus. While I hope none of these scenarios happen to you, it’s worth an eyes-wide-open look at your business and how much of a safety net you have in place.

Do you have:

• More than one revenue stream or profit centre
• Packages and services that can be ramped up or scaled down as you need (this means you have a clearly defined market with a problem that fits your solution)
• Consistent marketing routines
• Others on your team
• Systems that someone else can step in and follow for the marketing and operations of your business
• Financial reserves or access to emergency money
• Willingness and ability to “put your feet up” when your body tells you it’s time

It’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s what we learn from our experiences and how we choose to move forward that does. I am reminded of this quote:  He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left. — Chinese Proverb. Review your business and plan for a trip of your own, you never know where the journey will take you!