Tag Archives: meeting

Professional Development , , , Leave a comment

Get Your First Impression Right the First Time

by

Congratulate yourself.  You were lucky enough to get a good referral from one of your clients and you’ve been invited to meet with your newest prospect.  Because you’re smart enough to know that first impressions set the stage for success in any relationship,  you want to get this right. 

Allegedly,  there is research that shows a prospect will decide whether he/she might be willing to work with a Freelance consultant within five seconds of their initial encounter.   To get the most of those precious few seconds,  why not do some preparation to make sure that your first impressions do the job for you—and not on you!

Keep fit

Good health gives you a glow that makes you appear more attractive and competent.   It’s not necessary to emulate a runway model or ironman triathlete.   Just follow some sort of fitness regimen that suits you,  whether it’s 3-4 hours/week at the gym,  biking or walking to work,  or maybe playing in a softball or volleyball league.  Regular exercise brings many benefits,  including more restful sleep,  decreased levels of stress and higher self-esteem.  

A diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and modest amounts of protein and carbohydrates,  about 60-100 ounces of water each day and limited alcoholic beverages  is the other half of a good fitness regimen and will make you look alert and capable.  Top it off by getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night and abstaining from nicotine.

Visual signals

Like it or not,  everyone makes snap judgments based factors such as looks,  weight,  hair,  jewelry,  make-up,  facial expression and more.   Be sure your visual signals  communicate that you are the type of person your prospect will want to do business with.  Always look sleek and professional,  neither too casual nor overly formal.  If possible,  find out what the company dress code norms are before  your meeting.  However,  even if the company dress code is jeans and polo shirt,  you must do a little better  (think business casual in that instance).

Good greeting

Your greeting consists of your smile,  your words and your handshake  (or bow, as appropriate).   A smile conveys that you are pleasant and approachable.   The words you choose for your greeting should be appropriately formal and never too informal.   Your handshake should be firm and neither limp nor crushing.   Lastly,  make sure that you use the appropriate honorific:  Mr.,  Ms.,  Admiral,  Captain, etc.,   to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and know how to address your prospect.

Smart agenda

A huge part of  first impressions hinge on whether you seem confident in yourself and what you have to offer.  Your prospect will sense whether you are prepared for the meeting,  or if you’re just winging it.   Therefore,  it’s important to know what you’d like to accomplish in the meeting.   A few days before the appointment,  start jotting down possibilities and come up with three or four reasonable meeting objectives.   Preparation radiates a poise that communicates credibility and competence.

Rehearse entrance

Now that you have all the components for creating a winning first impression,  give yourself the benefit of a dress rehearsal.   Practice how you’ll enter the room  (or if the prospect comes to you,   how you will stand and greet him/her),  how you will express your greeting and how you will shake hands or bow.   Rehearse it until you are comfortable with all aspects,  including the goals of your meeting agenda.  If possible,  videotape it and critique.  Good luck!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , , Leave a comment

Make the Most of Prospect Meetings

by

Lucky you!  You networked your way into a meeting with a prospective client.  Now make sure you don’t blow the sale.  Here’s a sales meeting checklist that will help you prevail:

1.     Do your homework.  Beyond the information about the prospect’s needs and priorities that you learned in early conversations,  be sure to supplement client info with a visit to the company website.  Familiarize yourself with products and services,  identify benefits that your services are positioned to bring and formulate the value proposition you will articulate in the meeting.  While on the website,  check out the CEO and other top officers.  If it’s a not-for-profit group,  check out who’s on the board. Perhaps you know or have done business with a VIP?  Finally,  do an internet search and read any articles that have been written about the organization in the last 12 – 18 months.

2.     Set realistic objectives for your meeting.  At the minimum,  verify your understanding of the prospect’s need for your services and learn if there is an upcoming project for which you may be considered.  If a project has been scheduled,  inquire about the timetable and what you must do to obtain the contract (like submit a proposal).  Further,  it’s also wise to  inquire as to whether others will be invited to submit proposals,  so you’ll know the competitive landscape and know how hard you’ll have to work to land the assignment.

3.     Have the right presentation materials.  Have color-coordinated,  good quality printed collaterals that communicate not only the necessary information that a client will need to evaluate your products and services but also a professional image that will reinforce your brand and sell for you after the meeting ends.  If you’ll present a Power Point,  make sure your slides are easy to read,  clear,  concise and relevant.

4.     Rehearse your presentation.  If possible,  videotape yourself as you practice using your printed materials and/or Power Points,  to perfect your pacing and make sure your tone is appropriately upbeat.  Moreover,  be sure to anticipate questions and/or objections and practice answers that will reassure your prospect.

5.     Notice your surroundings.  Are there golf or tennis trophies in the office,  or good art on the walls?  If you can comfortably weave in an element or two,  it will be a good way to personalize your presentation and acknowledge and validate accomplishments or items of which your prospect is obviously proud.

6.     Notice your prospect.  Does your prospect appear to be paying attention to you?  Are there smiles and nods of agreement,  or a bored look,  or even a scowl on the face?  If it’s the latter two,  then you must stop and ask your prospect to tell what he/she finds troubling,  because you clearly have an objection to resolve and you’re nowhere until you do that satisfactorily.

7.     Ask qualifying questions.  Make your presentation a conversation and not a monologue.  Ask questions along the way to discover and confirm your prospect’s needs and listen to the answers.  Incorporate those answers into the rest of your presentation.  Remember to confirm that your prospect is the real decision-maker:  “Are you the person who will make the final decision?”

8.     Present case studies.  Case studies demonstrate the ways in which you can successfully meet client needs.  Prepare two or three that you can discuss and in the process,  build confidence in your capabilities.  Case studies are also a wonderful way to position yourself against competitors.

9.     Summarize your key points.  Place special emphasis on issues that are dear to your prospect,  as revealed in the answers to the qualifying questions you asked earlier on.

10.    Take action.  Ask for the business!  “I’d like to work with you.  Have I answered all your questions and put any reservations you might have to rest?  Do you feel ready to move forward?  When can we get started?”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Administrative , , , Leave a comment

The Living is Easy…

by

And so we are drifting through the summer doldrums.  As heat and humidity rise,  our focus and motivation fall.  Summer is the slowest period for Freelancers and most others,  with the exception of  landscapers, building contractors, wedding planners and those in the tourist industry.

For the majority,  summer means billable hours  that evaporate like the morning dew on roses.  But who can afford 10 weeks of idleness?  Savvy business owners know it is wise to make hay while the hot sun shines and use the summer months to position themselves to create business in the fourth quarter and beyond.  A business slowdown need not mean no business activity.  Summer is the perfect time to pick up the thread of what slipped off the radar screen earlier in the year.

You may start this productive cycle by reviewing your business model.  How efficient is your operation?  How much does it cost to make a sale?  Just how profitable is your business,  anyway? What processes could be streamlined?  What technology could make service delivery,  customer contact and/or administrative functions easier,  faster or less expensive?

By the way,  did you meet your sales projections for the first half of the year?  Might it be time to hire help,  so that productivity can increase,  customer service improved or administrative functions executed in a more timely fashion?

What emerging  priorities and concerns  are on the horizon that may excite or agitate your clients and how might that impact your business? You have the next few weeks to catch up on industry magazines,  websites,  white papers and blogs and find out what you need to know to stay competitive and understand  what may change in your marketing message or service options and delivery.

Summer is also a great time for professional development.  Look for certifications to pick up,  or courses and workshops to attend.  If you can budget it,  use this time to boost your skill set and  make yourself  appear more of an expert to clients and prospects.  Along the way,  you’ll meet a few people you should know.

Summer is a time of more flexible schedules and despite vacations,  it’s a good time to collar people and arrange those meetings that no one had time for between January and June.  So go back through your notes and remind yourself of whom you wanted to meet with and send out a few emails.  What intriguing and mutually beneficial proposal will you present?

Finally,  summer is an excellent time to do the prospecting that you’ve been putting off  for six months.  Ask colleagues for introductions and maybe do some selective cold calling.  Make it a point to make inroads on new business development.  I’ll bet that slippery someone whom you’ve been chasing since last year is more available in July and August.

By taking the initiative,  you will see that  summer is the best time to evaluate, investigate and create business opportunities that will give you a cushion of revenue that will get you through next year’s summer doldrums!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , , Leave a comment

Facilitated Meetings Get Things Done

by

At certain times it is advisable to bring in a professional to facilitate,  or conduct,  your meeting. The facilitator guides meeting participants through a specific agenda and employs techniques that assist participants as they work to identify key issues,  analyze problems,  discover opportunities and organically create strategies,  decisions,  actions and time tables that will lead to resolutions that participants understand and accept.

According to Michael Wilkinson,  author of “The Secrets of Facilitation” (2005),  examples of appropriate times to call in a professional meeting facilitator are:

1). An important issue has been detected or a major problem has surfaced.

2). The solution to a vital issue is not apparent and deeper understanding and analysis of  the problem are required.

3). Buy-in is needed for a solution to be successful and it is likely that the required solution will need the acceptance of key stakeholders.   A change in behavior or methods may be necessary,  without which the solution will fail.

When a professional meeting facilitator is called upon to conduct your very important meeting,  time and money are not wasted.  The facilitator works with the meeting convener to select the best participants for the meeting, who become the planning team for the issue at hand.

Who are the team leaders of departments that will control decisions likely to be made? Who are the team leaders of departments that will be impacted by those decisions? Who are the pivotal team members in those departments,  those most likely to formulate strategies,  implement actions and/or live with the fall-out? These factors impact the selection of planning team participants.

Once the convener has worked with the facilitator to choose the team,  the facilitator conducts brief,  individual interviews with them. The facilitator explains to team members why they have been invited to participate and what the convener would like to achieve in the meeting.  The facilitator then asks questions of participants in order to gauge alternative viewpoints regarding the history of the issue,  resolutions attempted and failed,  possible barriers to resolution and factors that may be critical to creating resolution.

The facilitator shares this data  with the convener and together they create an agenda for the planning session and also determine how much time will be needed to work through it and arrive at solutions. The convener then schedules a mutually agreeable meeting time and confirms specifics in writing,  ASAP.

If pre-meeting data need to be generated, the convener either assembles the data or assigns the task to the appropriate staff.  In advance of the meeting, the convener sends the agenda to the planning team,  along with data that must be reviewed.

At the meeting,  the facilitator gives an overview of the process the team will use to examine and analyze the issue and create solutions and then reviews the agenda. The facilitator also gets agreement on meeting ground rules:  e.g., no surfing of electronic gadgets,  no interrupting,  no “opting out”, etc.

The facilitator then goes about the work of conducting the meeting.   He/she asks provocative questions that will stimulate thoughtful analysis;  leads the team in brainstorming useful ideas;  generates enthusiastic participation;  and captures participant responses on flip charts,  for documentation.  The facilitator motivates the team to delve into the issues and devise solutions.

Where there is disagreement over an approach to a problem,  the facilitator works to find consensus and accommodation.  Solutions that emerge in facilitated meetings work because the key stakeholders are always present.  Their perspectives and priorities  shape and create the  solutions that arise and therefore they buy into them.  They own them and they value them.  As Michael Wilkinson has pointed out,  an effective decision = the right decision x commitment to the decision.

The facilitator transfers the decisions,  actions and follow-up from flip charts to Word documents and sends that info to the convener ASAP,  who then disseminates to the team. Additionally,  the facilitator may reconvene the team for a half day meeting in 45-90 days,  to ensure that team members are following through,  allow the team to measure the impact of solutions,  make necessary alterations and maintain project momentum and commitment.

In professionally facilitated planning meetings, business objectives are invariably achieved and implemented in a timely and cost effective manner.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Professional Development , Leave a comment

Let’s Call The Meeting To Order

by

“Do we have to have this meeting?” How many times over the last 10 years have you made that statement? Probably countless times. You were surely justified.  Most meetings waste time and money because they are called for the wrong reasons.  They have the wrong people in the room;  too many people just want  to hear themselves talk;  they drag on forever;  and worse,  either no decisions are made or if they are, they are never enacted.  Meetings are torture!

In my corporate days,  I worked for a Fortune 100 that imposed so many meetings on the staff that they may have violated human rights treaties. Those people would call a meeting and first decide how long they wanted it to be. Then they would either expand or contract an agenda to fill the allotted time. Yikes!

Meetings were unproductive,  mind-numbingly boring,  seldom addressed relevant issues, typically brought forth no decisions,  rarely produced follow-up actions and absolutely never ended on time. They were brutal.

The money and time wasted on senseless meetings by US businesses is now being calculated by an online company called Meet or Die  meetordie.com.  They chose about a dozen industry categories,  factored the length of the meeting and the job rankings of who will attend and then estimated the cost of the meeting to the company.   If you spend a lot of time in meetings (or are a serial convener),  please check out this site.  It will give you pause.

A company with 100-500 employees that holds a day long meeting with just 5 mid-level employees present will spend an average $3000.00 to conduct that meeting in-house. Team Leader,  ask yourself—will your meeting produce results that are worth the resources expended? Are you guaranteed to accomplish what you set out to do? Will the actions and decisions that surface be implemented?

So what goes wrong? The biggest meeting killer is the lack of a clear purpose.  What does the convener aim to do in the meeting and why? The second meeting killer is the agenda. The meeting agenda should reflect the purpose.  Furthermore,  it should not overflow the time scheduled for the meeting.  The idea is to provide a framework to identify and define  key issues; discuss and analyze those issues; and resolve those issues through decisions, strategies, action plans and follow-up.

Moreover,  it is critical for the convener to bring the right people into the meeting.  Identify the stakeholders and decision makers for the issues at hand and schedule a mutually convenient date and time frame needed to carry out the meeting agenda.   Decide if any participants would be best suited to take ownership of a particular agenda topic and review with that person.  Make sure that appropriate background materials are emailed in advance for participant review.

During the meeting,  encourage participation from all attendees.  Do not let people “hog the floor” or,  heaven forbid,  behave disrespectfully by attacking,  sarcasm,  texting, interrupting or other dysfunctional behavior.

There will be room for alternative viewpoints on how to approach and manage key issues and that is healthy.  After all,  you called the meeting to get input about concerns and possible solutions.  Just remember that the meeting convener is responsible for ensuring good behavior and establishing an atmosphere of positive energy and thoughtful dialogue that will promote analysis, sound decision making and problem solving.  The convener should also keep the meeting flowing by moving through the agenda and staying on time.

Lastly,  the convener should review all decisions reached and actions planned;  review who will take ownership of implementing those;  establish an accountability follow-up schedule;  and in a timely fashion,  email meeting minutes to document it all.

There you have it,  the secrets to running an effective meeting.  Next week, we’ll talk about when it makes sense to call in a professional to plan and run a meeting for you.

Thanks for reading,
Kim