As the world becomes more digitized and people continue to work online, you are likely to have many virtual meetings with new prospects. Despite the location independence, instant connectivity, cost-effectiveness and increased productivity you find through virtual meetings, you need more than a branded Zoom background to truly impress potential clients. These are a few tips to help you have successful first-time meetings.
Keeping Their Needs In Mind
First, do your research to find out what your potential clients need and want. Learn what you can about their businesses, and share your knowledge with them during the meeting. Find out what their challenges are and how you can help them solve them.
The key is to focus on your potential clients. Make the presentation and meeting about them, not you. Ask lots of interesting, open-ended questions about them and their needs during the virtual meeting. Gather as much information as you can.
Be Strategic in Your Invitations
Every meeting should be strategically planned. Try to get meetings with those who can make financial decisions for their companies. Also, speak with those who can directly benefit from your products or services.
Build a strategy for making connections. For example, you may meet individuals at networking events, conferences or meetings. You should also connect on social media, specifically LinkedIn. Read their companies’ content, and direct them to content from your company that is helpful to them or reveals how you can help them.
Avoid being pushy, but do request a meeting through a personal message. Use positive, forward-looking prose when you contact your prospects. Building a virtual relationship helps, so don’t rush your meetings.
Set a Definite Agenda
Every meeting should have an agenda. This not only keeps you on topic, but it prepares the other participants for what is to come. Make sure your attendees agree with your proposed agenda and ask whether they have anything to add. Start with listening. Then, move on to your presentation. Finally, set aside time for questions.
You should also have a time limit for your meeting. If you feel as if you are going to run over, suggest they submit their questions to you via email or ask for a second meeting where you can go over them. Avoid going over the time you set without full agreement from all your meeting attendees.
Build Rapport in the Meeting
Remember to build rapport throughout the meeting. You don’t want to be seen as an all-business and having no personality. Therefore, complement their virtual Office backgrounds or a piece of content you found especially interesting. Discuss anything you have in common. You can make some small talk, but avoid taking too much time.
Consider weaving your compliments into the presentation for the best results.
Value Proposition
Create your value proposition. Clearly state what your product or service is and how the attendees will benefit. Discuss how you will deliver on your promises. Focus on the future and its possibilities by painting a picture of how their problems are solved. Always deliver.
Your first meeting sets the stage for your relationship with the meeting attendees. Your goal should be to gain their interest and a second meeting. Use your best Microsoft Teams backgrounds and these strategic meeting tips to gain that second meeting.