A Quick Guide to an Effective Client Meeting

Of course, it’s easier said than done, and if you are a novice you will definitely need some practice. You might have read or heard suggestions that can help you like, be confident, excited for the product, and so on, but the truth is those things are simply helpful on a general level.

Reality is that client meeting or sales warrants a more specific approach and adequately addressing clients’ needs. To that end, here is a brief guide that will come in handy for your upcoming client meetings.

Be Ready for Your Client Meeting

Here’s one of the most important things to remember when you are getting ready for a meeting with clients. Don’t talk about what you are selling, create a conversation flow that details what you can do for that client.

Make sure you bring all the relevant documents, client reports, and let the data speak for you, but focus your presentation around that particular client. In other words, avoid talking about your product or service in general, rather than talk about a user-specific scenario and positive outcomes.

Clearly Defined Objective

Having meetings with clients, just for the sake of having them is never productive, in fact, it can do more harm than good in some cases. Busy people have limited time, and a botched attempt at sales can hinder you as the client might lose interest and not give you a second chance.

What you need to do is have meeting objectives and an agenda for the meeting. Client meeting is not always about making a sale, it is also about building loyalty and ensuring client retention.

With clear objectives and agenda, you ensure that you are not wasting anyone’s time and you have the opportunity to present a meeting flow to them so that they know exactly what you wish to discuss.

This will also help you remember the important points and keep track of whether the client meeting is going as planned. Remember that you need to leave space for client questions, and prepare some of the answers beforehand.

It is also important to take notes of questions you did not anticipate, and include them in an FAQ. Expanding your FAQ list allows you to create a better user experience, along with more productive client meetings.

Keep the Meeting Value-focused

This is where the background check or user history will come in handy. You should focus your objective or agenda around the unique value proposition.

You can then explain how that client fits in your target user profile, and tell him what type of services you are offering will be the most beneficial for their line of work. You can also offer a free demo or something similar, in order to demonstrate your goodwill and to allow that client to see the benefits of your product/service rather than just hear about them.

Salvage What You Can

Reality is that not all meetings end with a sale, and some clients will eventually discontinue the service you are providing. This on its own has the potential to make you more successful if you gather the right inputs.

Don’t be afraid to ask why they are not interested, feel free to suggest methods of how you would be able to bridge the gaps or fix the issues they are mentioning. You can also ask about the competition, what is it that they found better, and reach out to them again, once your service improves.