Today I want to share with you my top tips to ensure you are aligned with clients in your meetings and you are always moving forward to the next step.
Too often I see sales people starting meetings with prospects without sharing or agreeing an agenda. The conversation is left to drift in any direction and without any expectation of what will be discussed or conditional agreement to taking a next step.
I find this disrespectful to a busy prospect, who no doubt is thinking “I hope this meeting is going to be useful. And I hope it’s not going to take too long. I’ve got a stack of work to finish today.”
So, I want you to set the stage correctly for a productive conversation.
The opening of the meeting is the point you set the tone and direction for how the meeting will run. Done well it will put the meeting on ‘The Winning Path’.
There are three things that you must share in the ‘Opening’
Purpose
Share the reason you have set up the meeting with the client which passes the W.I.IF.M Test: The client is thinking – ‘What’s in it for me?’
Your Objective must be to Stimulate Interest.
- Saying “I thought it would be good for us to meet’ Will not thrill a busy client.
Vs
- “I’d like to get a better understanding of you plans / project and the most important factors to you.
- This may help you pass the W.I.I.F.M test!
- Also confirm the time frame, this relives a busy prospect and reduces their stress as they know you won’t keep them for hours!
Content
- How do you plan to conduct the meeting?
- Share with the client how you plan to manage the meeting within the time you have agreed. At this stage, the process should be all about the client. Why not suggest 2 or 3 points to cover and ask them if there are any points they’d like to discuss.
- You could say:
“As a suggestion, I thought we could look at…”
- What is happening in your business at the moment?
- What your business objectives are for the future?
- Any areas that we may be able to assist with those plans.
Payoff
- Provided the meeting goes well and you do find some common ground what do you expect the next step to be?
- Gain agreement from the client at the opening of your meeting by simply asking:
- “If we do find some points of interest, I’d be happy to some further research and present some specific ideas or relevant case studies. Does that sound good to you?”
You and the prospect have set the expectation for a follow up meeting if you discover an area of interest, rather than leave this to chance at the end.
Now let’s put these 3 points together to create a relaxed and professional introduction to your meeting that takes less than a minute to share.
- Purpose – Hi John it’s great to have the opportunity to see you…today I’d like to get a much better understanding of your plans/ project and the most important factors to you. I’ve allowed about 30-40mins for our meeting is that ok for you?
- Content – As a suggestion I thought we could look at…
- What is happening in your business at the moment?
- What your business objectives are for the future?
- Areas that we may be able to assist with those plans.
- Payoff – If we do find some points of interest, I’d be happy to some further research and present some specific ideas or relevant case studies. Does that sound good to you?
So, I encourage you to always start you meetings by sharing these three aspects at the outset
Your clients will love your clarity and purposeful way of working, one that sets their objectives as a top priority and not your product or service!
