Nice To Meet You: Tips For First Meetings With New Clients

So, you’ve just got attracted the attention of a potential new client – that’s great news, congratulations! You are getting so close to winning their business; there is just one final thing that stands between you and signing this awesome new client to your books. You need to arrange a first meeting where you can wow them with your professional charm!

This is where many new entrepreneurs and company leaders go wrong and can end up losing a potential contract. They don’t go on the charm offensive and show off their company as much as they should. And, because of this, the company might not appeal to the client quite as much, and they could take their business elsewhere. Make sure that doesn’t happen to you! Here are some great tips to help you nail that all-important first meeting with a potential new client!

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!
Preparing is the name of the game when it comes to all kinds of meetings. And this is especially the case for first meetings with clients. If you are going to see them in their office, you should know exactly where you are going and give yourself plenty of time to make sure you get there on time. You could use a calendar app, like Square’s Appointment Tool, if you and some of your employees are going to the meeting. This way, you each know where you are expected to be and when, so no one turns up late! You should also do you homework on the client’s company. It’s also a good idea to take some information on your own company so that you can leave this with the potential client so that they can read it over in their own time.

Let Them Do All The Talking
Right at the start of the meeting, you will need to do all the obligatory small talk. You should use this as an icebreaker, and ask the client how they are doing. If you are stuck for some small talk topics, you can always fall back on the weather; everyone loves talking about the weather! But then, once you get down to the proper business, you should let your client talk as much as they like. And this will probably be a lot! Sit back and relax as they talk about their client, and what they will expect from your work. Make them feel like they are the boss – after all, you want them to hire you!

Ask Them Questions
Once they have tired of talking about themselves, you should start to ask them questions that can give you a better idea of what it will be like to work for them. They don’t have to be very searching questions, but just ones that will give you enough information on the structure of the expected workload. It’ll also be a great chance to pick up on something that you think you might have missed.

Give Them Advice
Ideally, you should never work for free, and that includes consultancy work. However, in this initial meeting, when you are trying to sell yourself and your company, you should think about giving away some free advice without expecting anything in return. That is because this will give you a chance to show off your skills to this potential client. And, if they are happy with what you say, you never know, it could improve your chances of bagging the contract! Another great reason why you should offer this advice is that it will help to build a rapport and trust between the two of you.

Always Follow Up
As you leave the meeting, you should always leave a business card so that the client can easily contact you should they have any further questions. Whether the meeting went fabulously or ended up being a complete nightmare, you should always follow up within a couple of days. This gives you the chance to thank the client for taking the time to meet with you and discuss things. But it also makes a great final impression, which is just as important as the first impression. In your email, be sure to state that you are still available for work and can accommodate their needs.

Hopefully, if you follow all of the above tips, you will find that you win a lot of work from potential clients! But you shouldn’t expect every meeting to go to plan – rejection is the name of the game in business and just something that you need to get used to!

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