Connecting: Meeting mistakes can break your business

Another time I met with someone and we had great dynamics but nothing ever came of it the ball was dropped.

The next time you make plans to meet with a business associate, vendor or potential client, recognize that one-on-one meetings can either be productive or destructive to your business.

Several challenges merit these questions: How do you make the meeting both casual and structured? How do you exit a meeting gracefully if it's a waste of time? And concerning follow-up, where is the balance between dropping the ball and shoving it down someone's throat?

These meeting mistakes poor preparation, failure to establish a time frame and vague commitment to follow through most likely will result in business ... for someone else.

Applying the tools of preparation, time boundaries and follow-through will increase the effectiveness of your meetings and give you a strategic advantage.

Preparation

Setting an agenda, even on a scrap of paper, ensures that you accomplish your goals at hand, and it's important that you communicate your agenda to the person with whom you are meeting. Kim Yocom, a personal financial analyst with Primerica (a member of CitiGroup), says she wants her potential clients to know why they are meeting.

She said she is especially sensitive to this need because Primerica is a network marketing company and she has been on the other side. "In the past, when other network marketers would ask to meet with me, I would ask point-blank why we were meeting, and they wouldn't give me a definite answer. As a result, I make sure I don't do that, because network marketing is a good thing, but you have to develop the trust to continue the relationship."

Understanding expectations from both sides is key to a successful first meeting. It also helps, when preparing for the meeting, to understand the agenda and expectations of your potential client. Darron Hemann, an investment representative with Edward Jones, makes sure he understands the client's expectations by collecting information before the meeting.

"I ask them what they expect of me and my firm, and I find out what their long-term and short-term goals are," he said.

Establish a time frame

After both individuals understand what they want to accomplish in the meeting, the next and most neglected step is to set time boundaries. Kate Lawson, MSW, LCSW, with the Center for Professional Counseling, said it is important to respect time and space boundaries. "That alone can be the reason someone tunes out because you didn't respect their schedule," she said.

The most common complaints are that the meeting went over time, there was a lack of focus, or the meeting was one-sided and one person didn't get equal time. Establishing a time boundary before the meeting begins helps to ensure that these problems don't develop. Often it works well to let the customer establish the time boundaries.

Joseph Tucker, CPA and principal of Tucker & Company PC, certified public accountants, said, "Before a meeting at my office, I ask them how much time they have available and how much time they need, giving them the freedom to bring up as many points as they wish to discuss without letting the meeting become counterproductive."

Donna Dinger, a Realtor with ReMax House of Brokers, has a creative way of both saving time and helping clients understand the expectations associated with purchasing a home.

"I created a booklet for prospective home buyers that has information to help buyers understand the steps to home ownership; from contacting a lender for qualification, to the home buying process and closing on the sale of a new home," Dinger said.

Follow-through

Most professionals realize the importance of following up, but often it is difficult to distinguish between being polite or being pushy. Following up too soon can be seen as pressuring, and waiting too long makes you lose momentum. What's the answer? One technique is to go immediately to your calendar and pencil in a reminder to follow up one or two weeks after the initial meeting.

According to Hemann, "At the end of the meeting, I leave the ball in their court for several days. If I haven't heard from them in seven days, I follow up with a call to see if they have any additional questions."

Creating a standard operating procedure is another way to stay on track.

At the end of the meeting Lawson lets her potential client know that it's standard practice for her to follow up in two weeks with a phone call. "I then get agreement and ask them if that works for them."

So the next time you agree to a meeting, make sure you are prepared. Know why you are meeting, clarify your intentions, understand your counterpart's expectations and set a time boundary. Upon exiting the meeting, clarify who is to do the follow-up call.

Marlene Chism is president of ICARE Consulting in Springfield.[[In-content Ad]]