The meet and greet is the business world’s equivalent to a job interview. The process of meeting potential clients can make even the most fearless of us break into a sweat – and what about those business owners who are more introvert than extrovert? Karen Morris shares six tips to build your confidence when introducing yourself to new potential clients.
When I set up my own business, I thought that the dreaded job interview was a thing of the past. Then, as I started to build up the business I realised – to my horror – that every prospect meeting involved going through that same process!
Here are six ways to make the meet and greet with potential clients an experience that leaves you feeling confident, rather than a traumatic experience that produces no results.
1. Preparation
The most important thing you need to do before you set foot anywhere near your potential clients is to research them thoroughly.
Make sure you know the basics: location of and travel time to the meeting (for them and yourself), their industry, their market and the type of work you’re going to discuss.
Then, take your research further so that you know some background on their business, their competitors, all of their products and services, and possible business development opportunities.
2. Presentation
Since we all make a decision about a person in the first 30 seconds of meeting them, your personal presentation is important to get right.
Part of your research should give you an indication of how you should present yourself in a meeting. For instance, law firms will expect business clothing, whereas a design or IT company is likely to be more relaxed in its dress code. Look at the design, language and philosophies of the company’s website for clues.
The potential client needs to feel comfortable that you are the right fit for their team, and you need to feel comfortable that your attire suits the occasion – a surefire boost to your confidence!
3. Solve their problems
When you prepare work samples, make sure you target it to their particular issue. Being a whiz at producing sensational web copy isn’t going to help them create intuitive user-documentation.
The right work samples will do more than impress them that you’ve done your homework; it will also give your prospect the opportunity to evaluate whether you can produce the kind of work that they need.
4. Make a personal connection
It’s essential to relate to the person that you are meeting with as a person, not just as a set of dollar signs. This is probably the single most important aspect of the meet and greet.
Although your potential client needs to be confident that you can deliver what they need and that you hold the same philosophies as them, finding a connection on a personal level gives them confidence that the relationship can develop and work over the long-term.
5. Circumvent the process
If the thought of the meet and greet still makes you break into a cold sweat, try making a connection before you meet.
One way to do this is to set up a work practice whereby you offer a free phone consultation prior to your initial face-to-face meeting. That way you can establish exactly what they are looking for and whether you are right for them. This has the added bonus of eliminating those hours of travelling to and from a prospect’s office, only to find out that it was never going to work in the first place.
The previous phone meeting enables you to arrive on more equal terms, as well helping to combat the ‘first-meeting’ shyness that some business people struggle with. You have a firm understanding of what they need and you can be prepared with a strong proposal ready to hand over there and then, if you haven’t already sent it to them in advance.
6. Chalk it up to experience
If you walk out of a meet and greet with a less-than-enthusiastic feeling, put it down to experience, especially if you’re new to the game. Anyone other than a seasoned salesperson is going to have difficulty selling themselves in the beginning.
As your confidence levels grow, it becomes easier to establish a relationship and find ways of getting that all-important personal connection.
And remember, even when you’ve been around the block a few times, there will still be people that you just don’t gel with. It’s perfectly fine to recognise that you are not a perfect business match, and move on to the next prospect.
This article was originally published in 2009 and has been updated for 2022.
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