Have you ever had trouble coming up with topics to talk about when you first meet someone and when you meet someone afterwards?

visiting some business event Do you already know in advance who you want to meet or act according to the situation? And if you have an interview, negotiations with a client, or you have agreed on a cup of coffee with an interesting journalist: do you know at least something about your interlocutor, or are you also going to learn everything along the way?

My advice today is that you try to prepare for absolutely every meeting, event, event in your life.

Indeed, sometimes, having come to a meeting unprepared, we risk losing the interlocutor forever, having made a fatal first impression on him.

Problem

We all know how important it is to be prepared for a business meeting. It doesn't matter if it's a meeting with potential client/ investor, on which our financial well-being depends, or we are simply invited to coffee with a new acquaintance.

How do we usually prepare for meetings? Someone repeats, someone pays attention to the history of the client company, someone picks up a suit, and someone does both.

The only problem is that all of the above actions sometimes do not affect the outcome of the meeting itself. Yes, you may demonstrate your skill, interest the interlocutor thanks to the “basic” information that you know about the market or its company, but the main problem will remain unresolved. The problem is that at the meeting itself, as we were distant from our interlocutor, we remain at a distance from him.

What is the idea? We all know how sometimes it is very important to create that very “informal trust”, to win over the interlocutor. Not as a "representative of company X", but as a person, a person. Even if your meeting is purely business (for example, discussing a contract), the human factor will sometimes be the main prerequisite for a positive outcome for you. After all, if the client does not like you as a person, then they probably will not choose you.

Question: So how can you create this very trust at the first meeting?

Solution

From a networking point of view, a great tool for achieving this goal is “homework” - a special process of preparation before a meeting.

A task: In the process of preparing for the meeting, try to find the following set of data about yourself:

Points of contact

Have you ever been in contact with a person for a long time, perhaps this is your colleague at work or a neighbor, and suddenly you suddenly find out that you are separated together by one big fact For example, you graduated from one university.

Surely your attitude towards this person would have changed dramatically. Of course, the best aside. He seemed to get closer.

And what if this happened not after several years of acquaintance, but at the first or second meeting. Surely, this would have affected not only the first impression of each other, but also the development of relationships in general. Perhaps now you could be best friends or business partners! Why not?

This could be achieved if you tried to get to know the interlocutor in advance. For example, before entering new job, decided to get acquainted with future colleagues in absentia and study their profiles in the social. networks, from where they would have learned that Alexei also graduated from HSE!

What is the idea? In order to find common ground with a future acquaintance, thereby gaining confidence in him, take 5-10 minutes to analyze him social networks. Today, it is this platform that is sometimes the main golden chest to learn more about a person than he himself can tell.

If a person is of the "old school" - he is not in any social network. network and on the Internet, too, nothing is written, then the task, of course, becomes more complicated. Here is a recommendation to connect your connections and try to ask colleagues, acquaintances who had contact with this person before.

During the DZ, try, first of all, to find those things that you have "in common" (common) with the person, in order to later mention this in the dialogue, thereby creating a higher level of trust.

This information can be presented in different ways: “I accidentally saw a repost of news X on your page. Do you also see the future in cybernetics?”, “Listen, but you didn’t do martial arts by chance, otherwise I’ll recognize the structure of the ears :)”, etc.

Summary: Common ground is exactly what separates you from “Hello, my name is” to “Hi, buddy!”. How well you know how to find these points and apply them depends on how quickly this transition will take place.

Topics for conversation

case: I remember, at the beginning of my career, I had a meeting with the head of the department of one faculty of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. I was recommended as an expert who could read a course of lectures on networking for local students. The meeting for me had the prefix "very important", because then it would be my first experience of speaking to a large audience.

Before the meeting, I naturally paid considerable attention to the preparation, namely, the analysis of the pages of my counterpart, Sergey. And among other things, I brought out 3-4 points for myself, which I could mention during the conversation.

One of them: Sergey's passion for running. I myself am not such a fan of running to talk about it for hours, but I respect all those who share healthy lifestyle life, because I do it myself.

That is why, when the “official part” of the meeting ended and Sergey suggested moving from the negotiation to the chill-out zone, to his question “Mikhail, what else are you doing?” I did not hesitate to translate the dialogue into sports topics. After that, unexpectedly for the interlocutors, but expected for me, we started talking about running, which still lasted about 10 minutes. Or rather, I listened more and listened to the stories about Sergey's various races and his company's office victories.

Subsequently, the result of the meeting was positive for me, and when we next met with him, he admitted that it was very pleasant for him that “we then had such a good talk about sports! Mikhail, what do you think about participating with our team in the next marathon?”.

What is the idea? If I hadn’t taken the time in advance to carefully study Sergey’s interests and find potential topics for conversation in order to create an informal personal connection with the interlocutor, then the conversation would certainly have gone in a different direction and, perhaps, not entirely beneficial for me. , so the first impression would be different - rather not so bright.

When preparing for an important meeting, think in advance not about what you could talk to a person, but what would he be interested in talking with you about? What are his interests? Do they go against yours? If they do, then it’s not worth forcing yourself to talk about this topic.

Pay attention to:

• Person's subscriptions. For example, if the first two subscriptions of a person are public about cars, then most likely this is one of his main hobbies. We fix.
• Public reposts. Often people repost some limited set of pages, usually their favorite ones. For example, out of 10 reposts, 6 groups are about artificial intelligence. signal for us. We fix in a notebook.
• Informal photos. If a person follows his personal brand, then on his page you can hardly see anything personal, that is, something that tells about his hobbies.

However, pay attention to details. Even the most avid brand managers post photos from their travels, big holidays, attended concerts: if this does not go against your interests, then great topics for conversation.

Utility

Demonstrating your desire to help another person in solving any of his problems has an unusually strong effect on the first impression.

If during the very first dialogue we tactfully offer our help to our interlocutor, we thereby, as if to ourselves, say how important this interlocutor is to us and how seriously we are interested in developing relations with him.

The only problem is that during the first communication, whether with a client, candidate, partner, future friend, we rarely allow ourselves abstract, personal topics. Therefore, it is very difficult to identify the real “pains” of the interlocutor.

By devoting some time in advance homework we may see how we can really be useful to him. For example, the first attached post on the page of our new acquaintance is a post-request to search for a designer in the project: “I'm glad for any recommendations”.

Excellent! During the dialogue, you can mention this:

- Alexander, you know, by the way; I was interested in your activities, I wanted to read about you on the Internet and came across a Facebook page. I found out that you are currently looking for a designer. I think I could help you with this. I have…

To a person:

• I am very pleased that you generally took the time to get to know him before the meeting, to find out about him better.
• it is doubly pleasant that you not only ran past his “problem post”, but studied it and offered your help disinterestedly.

Thus, for the interlocutor, this is a direct signal of your interest in him and the desire to develop communication.

Thus, the maximum task in preparing for a potential meeting is to find the “pains” of our interlocutor and think over in advance the options for a proposal to solve them.

To find these pains to pay attention:

• wall. Very often, when someone has a question to quickly find something or someone (for example, a designer for a project or a photographer for a wedding), we throw this request into the feed. Looking a little in the history of almost every person, you can find a question. Even if a person has already solved it, we can still bring up this topic in order to show how else we could be useful in the future.
• Recommendations. Check if you have "mutual acquaintances" with him. It often happens that with a stranger we have several common acquaintances whom we know well or relatively well and whom we can ask about this person. Ask what the person is doing and if he has any current affairs in which we could help.

Hello! In this article, we will talk about how to conduct the first meeting with a client so that it develops into a long-term cooperation.

Today you will learn:

1. What are the stages of a meeting with a client;
2. How to prepare for upcoming negotiations;
3. A few tricks of business etiquette that will help you quickly establish contact with a potential client.

Importance of the first meeting and its purpose

For a man who, as he fulfills his official duties must find new clients and meet with them, the first meeting is of great importance. The signing of the contract and, most often, the size of the agreement depend on how successfully the negotiations go. Therefore, such an event must be approached very responsibly.

When going to negotiate with a client, you must understand that the first meeting does not always end with the signing of a close cooperation contract. This is only the first step on the way to a successful business relationship.

When meeting with a potential client for the first time, first of all, it is necessary to pursue the following goals:

• Determine if the client is promising and ready for cooperation;
• Form the primary needs of the interlocutor;
• Determine the range of goods and services that are of interest to the client;
• Offer to use free samples products (probes);
• Ask the interlocutor to express their opinion about the product you offer.

The main purpose of the meeting is to sell not a product, but yourself. You must do everything in your power to achieve a good location and interest of the client.

Preparing for a meeting with a client

In order for the first negotiations to be successful, it is necessary to carefully prepare for them. You have to think through all the details. Do not rely on your orientation on the spot. You need to be ready for everything. To do this, you will have to develop several plans for the development of events.

All preparation can be divided into 2 stages - informational and organizational.

Information stage

Before scheduling a meeting, you should collect as much information about the potential client as possible.

Firstly, collect information about the field of activity of the future interlocutor. Read more specialized literature, try to remember as many specific terms as possible that may come in handy during the conversation.

Secondly, go to the website of the organization that the client represents, and familiarize yourself with its content. Study the leadership team and analyze all available information.

Thirdly, be interested in the activities of competitors, as well as their possible offers. Thanks to this, you can offer the interlocutor more favorable conditions for cooperation.

Fourth well study the product you offer. You must know every detail about the products or services that you offer to the client. If at the upcoming negotiations you cannot adequately present the goods, then it is unlikely that anyone will want to deal with such an inexperienced employee.

Organizational stage

At this stage, you should be busy organizing the upcoming meeting. First you need to assign it.

To do this, call a potential client and find out where, when and at what time it will be convenient for him to meet with you. Set specific dates. When arranging a meeting, consider the wishes of the interlocutor.

Consider examples of meeting places.

Any meeting place should be quiet and not crowded.

After the client has accepted the offer of the meeting, it is necessary to thoroughly prepare for it. Consider what gadgets and demo materials you will need.

You must have with you:

• A diary or business notebook in which you will write down important, in your opinion, information;
• Business cards - should be meaningful, but at the same time concise;
• Handle;
• Blank sheets of paper (if the meeting will take place in a coffee shop, and the client does not have a diary at hand);
• Clean contracts, questionnaires or order forms (in case you arrange the right meeting and the client immediately wants to conclude a contract);
• Brochures - the client needs to be presented with visual information, and not talk about products “on the fingers”.

Having prepared the necessary attributes for negotiations, you must prepare yourself. As the proverb says "They meet by clothes ...", so your appearance may play a key role.

When going to an appointment, you must:

1. Find business clothes in your wardrobe. It can be a suit + shirt + tie. Or a suit and turtleneck. Women can wear a skirt and blouse or pantsuit. In these clothes you should feel comfortable.
2. Refuse extravagant, ultra-modern and defiant outfits.
3. Tidy up your hands and hair. Women's makeup should not be bright and defiant.
4. Pay attention to shoes and, if necessary, clean them.
5. Refuse cheap accessories, and fakes of famous brands. Many wealthy people at a glance distinguish cheap Chinese fake watches, lighters and other accessories from the original. If you can't afford expensive branded items, then it's better to give them up altogether.

Step-by-step instructions or meeting script

You, as a person who wants to, need to understand that preparation alone is not enough for successful negotiations. You must know the minutes of the meeting well and the basics of business etiquette.

We have compiled an algorithm of actions for you, thanks to which the first meeting with the client will be held at the highest level, and the best impressions will remain about you as a specialist.

1. Enter the office. If you are meeting with a client in his office, and your arrival was reported, enter the office by knocking. You don't need to ask permission to log in again.
2. If the meeting takes place on neutral territory, then you need to arrive 5-10 minutes before the appointed time.
3. Greet the client. Say hello by addressing by name.

• On the territory of the client, the client should be the first to extend his hand for greeting. If he did not do this, then the handshake does not occur.
• In your territory, you must reach out first.
• In a coffee shop, men hold out their hands to women, older ones to younger ones.

1. Exchange business cards. The business card must be handed over in person. If a client offers you his business card, then it must be read aloud. You can’t put it in your pocket without looking and familiarizing yourself.
2. Sit on a chair. If the negotiations take place in the office of the client, then wait until you are offered to sit down. If there is no offer, ask where you can sit. If the meeting takes place on neutral territory, then you do not need to wait for an invitation to take a chair.
3. start a conversation. It is necessary to start negotiations with abstract topics. It is best if you compliment the client's company. Only he must be sincere. Do not touch on topics related to religion, politics, sports addictions. It is also better to refrain from banal topics about the weather and the beautiful interior of the office.
4. After talking on general topics, move on to staging situational questions. Start asking them carefully, "probing the ground."
5. Then move on to the more serious ones. problematic issues and suggest ways to solve the identified problems. Make a small forecast of further cooperation.
6. If the client wishes, you can sign a cooperation agreement. But don't insist on it. Very often a person needs to "digest" the information received.
7. It is better to end the meeting with an agreement on the date and time of the next meeting. Even if it turned out that the client was not interested, still ask him to meet with you again.
8. Say goodbye to the interlocutor thank you for your time and leave the room.
9. After the negotiations, write down in your diary important points and meeting details.

There are situations when the meeting is prepared and organized at the highest level, and everything goes fine, but at some point something happens and the client closes in on himself. After that, the negotiations can not be considered successful.

Most likely, some mistake was made that played a decisive role.

To eliminate the likelihood of such a scenario developing, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the following recommendations and always adhere to them:

1. Disable mobile phone. Calls will distract you in every possible way, and if you decide to pick up the phone in the midst of negotiations, then show disrespect to the interlocutor.
2. Don't try to smoke.
3. If the client offers you to drink tea, coffee or water, then opt for water. When you ask for coffee, you will get a few more questions (for example, how many spoons of sugar to put in or what kind of coffee do you prefer). They will distract you and take up precious time.
4. Look the interlocutor straight in the eye. You must make eye contact.
5. During the negotiation process, periodically take notes and notes.
6. Don't fawn and don't fawn. Behave with dignity, only in this way the client will treat you as an equal.
7. Let the client know that you respect his opinion of the interlocutor and are ready to defend his interests.

Conclusion

The first meeting is a serious and responsible stage on the way to long-term cooperation. Often it is she who decides the fate of further business relations. Therefore, the organizer of such a meeting faces a difficult task - to prepare, organize and conduct the upcoming negotiations at the highest level.

The key factor on which tactics depend is self-esteem. If it is stable and stable, then the person will try to negotiate constructively and mutually beneficial. If a person feels insecure, then he will "hide in defense" and be afraid to lose. If she is unreasonably tall, she will try to compete and “drag the blanket” over herself. In these two cases, the person himself behaves destructively. But in both cases, he believes that the problem is in the negotiating partner. There is a kind of “blind spot” principle, when a person is able to understand and notice everything, except for the reason that causes problems in negotiations.

Adequate self-esteem is developed by being surrounded by a large number of people who can and want to tell you the truth about yourself. They are not employees of your company, not managers and not colleagues, but your friends and comrades with whom you are in good relations. If you are adequate in your self-esteem, then you are adequate both in negotiations with partners and in personal communication.

Things to think about ahead of time

It is conditionally possible to divide the style of negotiating into two types: emotional and rational. When going to a meeting, think about how your partner prefers to behave.

If his communication style can be called rational, you should focus on measurable indicators of negotiations and, at the beginning, rely on what is easier to calculate. And only then move on to what is more difficult to measure.

If he uses an emotional communication style, then you should focus on the emotional background of the negotiations. What arguments are needed to convince the person located towards you that you are right? Virtually none. What if he hates you? Also none - it is unlikely that something will help here. It is important to take small steps to make negotiations easy and enjoyable for your partner.

We must prepare in advance for different options behavior of the negotiating partner. If he uses attack tactics, then it is necessary to consider how to respond to aggressive and not always adequate reproaches, claims and restrictions. If he defends, we need to think about what arguments can be used to “pull” the partner out of the state of expectation of actions only from our side.

It is always better to negotiate alone. No one to rely on
just for yourself and get ready
to the maximum

Here it is important to act by the “method of gradual approximation”: fixing the minimum joint actions as an approximation to the overall result. This may be an agreement on the duration of negotiations, and a list of issues for discussion, and their order.

The more information you gather about your partner in advance, the better. But it is important not to show your interest before the negotiations have begun. Moreover, try to hide your awareness as much as possible.

If you have collected information (yes, tentatively) about the partner's interests and negotiating style, then you can probably determine what parameters of the transaction the partner would like to hide from you first. And perhaps he generally deceives or is deceived about some facts and processes.

In no case should you catch a partner on inaccuracies or “show off” your awareness. After all, if he wants to hide something, and you “pull it out into the light of day”, then you will not only complicate this negotiation process for yourself, but also spoil the relationship for a long time. People are able to forgive many mistakes, but the fact that someone is smarter, more literate or more informed than them is never.

Regulations

At the beginning of negotiations, it is necessary to decide on the rules, topic and time. Most try to determine the time first. And then it turns out that they did not have time to discuss “both this and that” questions. The rush begins. And behind it - inattention to the words, positions and proposals of the partner. Therefore, it is important to follow the sequence.

The duration of the negotiations can be different - depending on how many issues you are discussing: from one issue for forty minutes to one and a half hours for 3-5 issues. It makes no sense to spend more time on one round. After the agreed period, you should be ready to fix any result.

It is better to schedule the next meeting for another day. People get tired of each other too, even if they are friends. And in negotiations, people jointly overcome differences and conflict zones. The exception is negotiations on business trips. Then you have to spend several rounds with breaks. Then I advise you to physically change the place of negotiations.

List of participants

It is always better to negotiate alone: ​​there is no one to rely on, you rely only on yourself and prepare to the maximum. At the same time, there is a large number of people who try to negotiate, as they say, "in command".

But it takes a long time to work on the teams of negotiators so that their work is coordinated and effective. Whereas usually negotiations are conducted by a group of employees whose interests often contradict each other. Only chance helps such pseudo-commands not to cause large losses by their actions. All their contradictions, mutual interference, inconsistency is visible to the specialist in the first minute. They lose by simply sitting down at the negotiating table. But at first they don't think so.

laughter with laughter, but when planning negotiations with a woman,

I try to collect information - is she married, how is her family life

Sometimes negotiations require the participation of a specialized specialist. Then it is necessary to agree with him in advance what questions may arise for him. Only the one who negotiates from our side gives him the floor. He has no right to directly answer the partner's questions.

It is best when you are alone and there are several people opposite you - you can notice contradictions in their position. At the same time, you yourself can always refer to the fact that it may take time to work out the issue under discussion (after all, there are several of them, and you also need to consult), and not make any decision until the next round of negotiations. Such an excuse is especially useful when you have nothing to cover.

The main thing to remember: if you are one against all, you have time, which means you need to immediately plan several rounds of negotiations. To do this, it is better to immediately warn that at first you would like to study mutual needs and approaches to the problem being solved, and already in the next negotiating round you will be ready to discuss possible options for cooperation.

Negotiations with a woman

Women are intuitively more sensitive to what is true and what is false. But when faced with unreliable information, they are not in a hurry to “attack” or “leave”, as men would do. They are interested in testing their guess. In this situation, women are more prone to manipulation than men. But if you join them open dialogue, there will be no manipulation on their part either.

There are sometimes exceptions to this rule, but rarely. This concerns the fact that women negotiate based on their emotional state. Something worries a woman, she can begin to behave emotionally unstable, "bitchy" and even manipulative.

Therefore, laughter with laughter, but when planning negotiations with a woman, try to collect information: is she married, how is her family life.

Be sure to take into account that in negotiations with a man, a woman will definitely note the status of a partner. And if he is at the level or higher, then his positive assessment will be important for her. It can be signs of attention, and elementary tact and politeness. And this applies to both married and single women equally.

If the status of a man is lower, then women conduct open negotiations, trying to finish them faster.

Illustration: Natalia Osipova

What girl wouldn't want to have the perfect first date with a guy? The time and place of the meeting is set, and immediately a lot of questions arise: how to prepare, what to wear, whether to let him kiss on the first date? Unrest is natural, because further relations with the chosen one will largely depend on how the meeting goes.

As a rule, the first date helps a man decide whether he likes a woman, whether he wants the development of events or the romance will end before it starts. There are many tricks in the arsenal of every woman. With the right approach and a wise life position, any young lady can transform into a sexy and irresistible beauty with a bright inner light and a charming smile. It is important not to overdo it with "special effects", so as not to alienate the gentleman and not create a wrong impression about yourself.

Look at all 100+!

Leave the man to decide where to go on a first date, and choose the right wardrobe for yourself, put on beautiful makeup, and pay attention to your hair. A woman should look gentle and natural. Let her appearance emphasize the natural beauty and mask minor imperfections.

An ideal place for a first date, whether it be a restaurant or a cinema, will allow a woman to feel comfortable and relaxed. Only when a girl is confident in herself can she open up and look her best.

Here are some tips for young ladies going on a first date with a guy:

• think carefully about what to wear on a first date: the outfit should not hinder movement, be defiant (ideally, if the clothes correspond to the situation and the place to which the girl was invited);
• give up things that can bring you discomfort, do not need to wear a miniskirt or shoes with very high heels;
• if you're invited to the perfect place for a first date, you want to look stunning. So, when going to a restaurant, add a small delicate decoration to your cocktail dress, and if you are going to go out of town for a picnic, pick up a warm comfortable sweater that sets off your eyes. Use accessories, jewelry, wardrobe details wisely - do not overdo it so as not to look like a Christmas tree!
• when the question of what to wear on a first date is resolved, it's time to think about makeup: it should not be catchy and defiant, if you do not want to scare a man away and leave the impression of a windy beauty about yourself, ready to rush at any male representative passing by;
• save the image of a sexy seductress for later, let the first date be remembered by the innocent romance of two hearts in love;
• at the same time, it is worth thinking about underwear: let it be comfortable and of high quality, it is better to refuse garters, ruffles and excessive lace (no one can predict how a tender kiss will end on a first date, perhaps a girl will not refuse to visit a guy on a cup of coffee - you need to be fully armed);
• choose a slightly sweet floral scent. It is important that the smell is in harmony with the image you have chosen and is generally pleasant and fresh;
• perfume does not have to be branded (few men are able to distinguish Chanel from Dior);
• we should not forget about the hands: well-groomed, with a fresh manicure, they attract special attention of the males, so it’s better to spend an extra hour and a half to go to a beauty salon (tip: give up the idea of ​​painting your nails too pretentiously or applying combat color to plastic unnatural claws extreme length);
• the choice of hairstyle style will directly depend on how the man decided where to go on a first date: it is better not to do a complex hairstyle if you go to nature, and for the theater, an option with highly laid strands is suitable;
• graceful high hairstyle, delicate light curls that give the girl a special charm, straight strands that emphasize noble facial features are most suitable for a romantic meeting, but intricate designs from many braids, graphic cutouts of bangs or radical bouffant options can be perceived ambiguously.

To look natural and harmonious in accordance with the place and time of the meeting - that's the main task girl who was about to go on a first date. A wise woman will definitely think through all the details so as not to miss her chance and win the heart of her chosen one.

How to choose a line of conduct?

Looking great during a meeting with a guy is very important, but even this will not be decisive. If a girl wants a relationship to develop and a meeting with a man to be repeated, she must monitor how she behaves and what she does.

Focus on his interests

If you show sincere interest in his hobbies, the man will definitely appreciate it. He will choose as a life partner one who will share his values ​​and aspirations, with whom it will be interesting to talk on topics of interest to him.

Sincerity is the key to success

Young people can quite easily recognize the lies and insincerity that come from a woman. No matter how hard the girl tries to disguise her true motives, the truth will come out one way or another. But sincerity will be rewarded, because every man wants to trust and be understood, forget about masks and intrigues.

Expressing your opinion is the right thing to do

Some narrow-minded young ladies are sure that if you want a kiss to happen on the first date, you need to agree with the young man in everything. But it's not! How can a companion be interesting who does not express her own opinion? The conversation becomes cloying, and the woman gives the impression of being stupid.

Joke for health

A cheerful carefree companion will please the gentleman and will certainly cheer him up. Banter and jokes on the verge of mockery should be avoided. Men react painfully to criticism addressed to them, so if they hear barbs, they are unlikely to want to continue the relationship.

stay yourself

Whom a man will love, you or a far-fetched image, is up to you. It is better from the first meeting to appear before the chosen one in your usual, comfortable appearance and state of mind. So you will not deceive the young man and will not be disappointed in the future.

What should not be done?

At a meeting with a man, it is important not to make stupid mistakes that can scare him away and cross out further acquaintance:

• no need to criticize others, so you will pass for a grumpy unpleasant woman;
• do not interrupt the man and be too active, let him have a greater influence on the development of events;
• forget about excesses: a girl who drinks a lot of alcohol or overeats during the first intimate meeting is a repulsive sight;
• do not share plans for a joint family life and common children;
• try not to go to extremes in behavior and words, it is better to remain soft and gentle.

In contact with

Classmates

From this article you will learn:

• When would it be appropriate to meet with a client?
• How to behave at the first meeting with a client
• How to properly prepare for a meeting with a client
• What behavior to follow when meeting with a client
• How to write a meeting report with a client

A business meeting is an event necessary for a constructive conversation involving two or more sides. In order for the negotiations to bring the expected result, you need to prepare for a personal meeting with the client: set goals that need to be achieved during the interaction, get acquainted with all the available information about the client (his psychological characteristics, achievements, career, business specifics), choose the appropriate style of behavior and clothes. If the preparation was carried out carefully, the meeting with the client has every chance of becoming successful.

When is it appropriate to meet with a client?

Most textbooks on sales technology state that any sales manager's workday should include three activities: talking on the phone, preparing for meetings with clients, and developing sales proposals, the meetings themselves. The effectiveness of its work is proposed to be simplistically assessed by four quantitative indicators: the number of calls made, arrangements for meetings with potential clients, meetings held, closed deals(according to the number of invoices issued). Particular attention should be paid to the meetings that took place.

Meetings with clients in sales for many sales managers become an end in itself. This is due to the fact that in some companies the emphasis is primarily on quantitative indicators that employees must comply with; or this happens at the initiative of the manager himself, who actively seeks personal communication with any potential customer who has only been persuaded to meet.

In theory, the more meetings, the more deals and satisfied customers, and quantity should turn into quality, but in practice this pattern does not always work. Many meetings are wasted and do not lead to a sale, but consist of the prospect getting to know the manager and the product that the company offers, as well as discovering the fact that in this moment the client does not need it and does not intend to buy anything, he simply satisfies his interest. Or the client can make only a small order, because it is not a target for this company. This is not the manager's fault.

It is necessary to be aware that each such useless trip is a detriment to business, since working time manager is spent irrationally: instead of meeting and servicing promising clients, which will bring a large income to the company, he mechanically fulfills the norm and wastes his resources on everyone in a row.

How to find out the hidden needs of the client? Find out in the training program

It is believed that the effectiveness of the call can only be assessed by whether it was possible to arrange a meeting with the client or not. But you can approach it from the other side and consider the one that allows you to characterize the qualifications of a potential client as an effective call.

Potential client qualification lies in evaluation its potential in terms of sales and the feasibility of building interaction with it.

A client can be qualified not only according to formal criteria, but also according to more general ones (field of activity, scale of business, need for goods and services supplied by the seller, availability of suppliers, readiness to change them and requirements for them, etc.). Analysis of this information about the real state of the client's business, its capabilities and current needs will allow you to select the highest priority from the entire list of potential customers and focus on serving them. These clients, with whom the transaction is most likely and desirable, should be spent on the time of managers in the first place, including holding personal meetings with them.

At first glance, it seems that it is possible to determine whether a client is promising only at a meeting, and not by phone. But if we know exactly what information we need and consistently ask questions during a telephone conversation using ready-made speech modules, then client potential assessment quite possible. This skill is easy to learn. The main thing is to be aware that effective communication is not tied only to personal meetings.

When interacting with a client, first of all, consider how interested he is, and, as far as possible, warm up his interest. Spend your resources sparingly and don't get ahead of the curve.

So, it will be enough for a “cold” client to sometimes send newsletters with news about the company, new products, articles on the topic. But the “warm” client is already a candidate for being invited to a marketing event, which will provide an opportunity to meet with several such potential customers at the same time. He needs to give his best resources. By the way, customers who communicate with each other during such events increase each other's interest in the company.

An alternative option for working with “warm” clients, if marketing activities are not planned in the near future, is to make an appointment by phone and invite them to your office, saving your managers time.

There are also so-called "hot" clients. If they are of interest to the firm and are ready for a deal, it is important to seize the moment to start a relationship with them. To do this, you can come to visit the client in the office, carefully preparing for this first meeting, since a lot will depend on it.

How should the first meeting with a client go?

The appearance of the manager is what forms the first impression of the client about him. Therefore, you should take special care of your appearance when going to a personal meeting with a client.

A universal solution for such situations is the classic business style of clothing (trousers, shirt, jacket or jumper; you can dilute this strict look with jeans or a turtleneck, but general impression formalities and composure should be maintained). However, if you have information about the tastes of the client, you can dress in accordance with them.

What needs to be avoided are flashy and flashy details in clothing and appearance in general (including hair, and for women, makeup and jewelry), as well as noticeable untidiness. You should be especially careful when preparing for a meeting with foreign clients: their culture may provide for much more strict limits of what is permitted than yours.

At the first meeting with a potential client, the manager should be clean and well-groomed, neatly dressed in accordance with his size, in order to feel comfortable and not look ridiculous. His whole appearance should express solidity, seriousness and have the client to trust.

Don't forget about shoes! Shoes should look expensive (like a watch, it reflects the wealth and social status of its owner), be of high quality and polished. Women are advised to choose a heel of medium or small height for such situations.

Take care of your hair: it should be neat and consistent with a business dress code. Put your hands in order - after all, they will be in sight throughout the meeting. Accessories also choose based on their relevance to the business context: it is better to do without some thing at all than to wear an obvious fake or something frankly of poor quality. Give preference to well-known firms and brands that produce business and casual clothes, but do not try to put on all the best and expensive at once or impress the client with your chic.

For the first meeting with the client, you need to bring a kit information documents which should include:

Selling services is more personalized than selling goods. This includes a lot: from education to insurance and medicine. Seeing an advertisement for a training or training course, potential consumer first of all, he will be interested in the trainer (coach, teacher, etc.) and only then in the topic and program. People choose a personal doctor or psychotherapist primarily according to personal impressions and preferences. Approximately the same attitude of the client is formed in relation to the insurance agent, especially if they have been cooperating for more than a year.

Therefore, for those areas of business where it is necessary to sell personal service, the biography of the specialist himself is very important, this is not superfluous information or an attempt to draw attention to yourself, but an adequate market requirement. Moreover, even many large companies organize a “Personnel” section on their websites with photos and information about employees. After all, customers do not interact with the company as a whole, but with specific living people working in it, and this communication usually begins with the sales manager.

In addition to writing texts and collecting documents, preparing for a meeting with a client includes other important steps.

Preparing for a meeting with a client: setting goals and collecting information

The first meeting with a potential client in many cases determines the outcome of all negotiations. For a sales manager, each successful meeting brings the conclusion of the contract closer and affects the size of the salary.

To expect that the contract will be signed at the first meeting is at least strange. In the best case, getting to know the client will be the beginning of a successful business cooperation and will entail new meetings and interactions.

For a manager conducting a first meeting with a potential client, the main goals are:

• assessment of prospects and willingness of the client to cooperate;
• identification of the main needs of the interlocutor;
• finding out which of the goods and services offered by your company may be useful and interesting to him;
• offering product samples, showing samples of work;
• receiving feedback from the client.

At this stage, the manager sells not the product itself, but himself (that is, he creates a favorable impression, interests the client, builds a trusting relationship with him). For this to work, it is necessary to work out in advance different scenarios development of events and be prepared for each of them (rather than hoping that everything will go smoothly and you will be able to orient yourself on the spot).

Preparation for a meeting with a client consists of two stages- informational and organizational.

Information stage

Before scheduling a meeting, collect all possible information about the client, namely:

• Understand the specifics of his business: read special literature, remember the most commonly used terms (they can be used during negotiations, showing the customer that you are on the same wavelength with him).
• Examine the corporate website of the client's company. Pay special attention to the headings of top management and personnel - perhaps it is with these people that you will have to talk.
• Take an interest in the success of competitors in the same area, determine what position your potential client occupies in the market. This will allow you to better understand his needs, perspectives and limitations in order to develop a proposal that is suitable for him.
• And, of course, you must have a great understanding of the products and services that you offer to the client. You need to know everything about them to the smallest detail and be ready to answer the client's questions during the meeting. Your task is to adequately, confidently and comprehensively present your product or service.

Organizational stage

This step is to resolve all organizational issues regarding future negotiations. First of all, you need to arrange a meeting with the client. This is usually done over the phone. Find out when and at what time it would be convenient for a potential client to talk in person, and make an appointment.

Examples of places to meet with a client:

For meetings with clients - both potential and already working with the company - not crowded places without noise are suitable. However, the success of the meeting is still determined to a greater extent by the behavior of the manager, and not by the venue.

How to conduct meetings with clients: the main steps

Personal negotiations with clients can be conducted in accordance with various algorithms. Let's look at the most simple and universal scheme for conducting a conversation.

The main stages of a meeting with a client:

Let's dwell on each of the stages in more detail.

Establishing initial contact

A lot depends on how the initial stage of the negotiations went. If it was not possible to establish contact with the client, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to form open friendly relations with him. Without contact, it makes no sense to proceed to the next stage, and it is better to postpone the meeting altogether for another time. Maybe you just came at the wrong time.

If the client willingly makes contact, it's time to move on to the essence of the negotiations.

Identification of the client's needs and their current goals and objectives

This stage of the meeting is best organized in the form of a dialogue: the manager asks the client questions, and he answers them. First you need to explain to the client that in this way you are trying to understand what he needs in order to offer him the best of what your company can give. Questions not only provide information about the needs of the client, but also draw him into a dialogue, which is of great importance in terms of the psychology of communication: even if initially the person was skeptical and did not want to hear about your products or services, the process of conversation itself in the form of questions and answers engages him in the right context, awakens his interest, focuses his attention on the topic.

Questions should be posed in such a way that the client not only clearly understands his problem areas, but also imbued with confidence that only you can solve his problems.

If you managed to do this, feel free to proceed to the next stage of negotiations.

Product/service presentation

Having gone through with the client part of the chain of asking questions, recognizing problems and the need to find solutions to them, proceed to positioning your product or service. At this stage business conversation your goal is to convince the client that your product or service is the ideal solution for him. Focus on the advantages and benefits of concluding a contract with you, highlight your key differences from similar offers of competitors.

Unlike the second stage of the meeting, during which it was necessary to "talk" the client, the third stage is more like a manager's monologue, and the client here is more of a listener. However, it is very important to keep in touch with him, periodically checking whether everything is clear, if there are any questions, etc.

Motivating the customer to buy

Having presented your offer, you need to motivate the client to accept it. This is done through direct questions about whether he is ready to make a purchase (conclude an agreement, etc.), on what conditions it would be convenient for him to do this, what he does not like, what disagreement has arisen with.

By answering such questions, one can judge whether the client is inclined to conclude a transaction. If definitely yes, then the next step can be skipped, going straight to the penultimate one. However, most often the client accumulates objections and clarifications during the meeting, and then the manager needs to give feedback by them.

Work with objections

There are many ways to deal with customer objections. various techniques. The choice of any of them (or several at once) is up to the manager himself. The main thing is not to ignore objections, to let the client know that you heard him, understood him and are ready to explain everything (right now or a little later). In order not to forget any of the objections during the conversation, you can write them down briefly, and later go through the list and discuss each of them with the client.

Completion of the deal

When all objections are processed and there are no disputed points, the right moment comes to sign the contract. It is important for the manager to understand in time that the client is already ready for the deal and agrees to make it, and after that to initiate a discussion of all the details and particulars: the exact amount of the purchase, delivery and payment terms. A task this stage meetings - to reach specific and clear agreements on all aspects of the transaction and receive clear promises from the client to fulfill their part of the obligations.

It happens that a representative of a client company is ready to work with you and agrees to a purchase, but at the moment it is not possible to sign an agreement (for example, CEO the firm is not present). In such situations, the sales manager must agree with him on specific actions: the time when the contract will be signed, the procedure for exchanging details and transferring documents.

Many sales managers ignore this last step when meeting with clients because they don't want to drag out negotiations, they are afraid to burden people with additional requests. But don't be shy about asking potential customers to give you the contact details of a few acquaintances, business partners, and others who might find your products or services useful! This is a great way to replenish the client base for the manager. Moreover, many clients treat such a request with understanding and willingly recommend those who might be interested in the presented product or service.

Of course, live meetings with clients do not always go exactly according to the described scheme. Some stages may drop out or change places. But it is highly desirable for a manager to follow this sequence in negotiations. First, it structures the conversation and makes it constructive. Secondly, with a ready-made template, the manager does not have to think about each of his next steps, which saves time for both interlocutors and avoids awkward pauses.

Absolutely all managers who go to personal meetings with clients - even the most experienced and intelligent - sometimes make mistakes. The most typical are the following mistakes:

Mistake #1- immediately present your product (service), skipping the stages of getting into contact and recognizing the actual needs of the client. In this case, the client feels that something completely unnecessary is being imposed on him, and is annoyed.

Mistake #2- hope for a chance and not have a conversation plan. The lack of an algorithm makes the conversation chaotic, creates pauses or distractions, and delays the meeting.

Mistake #3- misunderstanding of the main need of the client, shifting the focus to less important needs and problems that he mentioned.

Mistake #4- inability to listen to the interlocutor and be interested in his point of view. Such people seem to be very selfish and oppressive, pursuing only their own benefit. They do not want to have a long-term business relationship.

Mistake #5- The meeting was not brought to its logical end. Often the manager simply says goodbye and leaves, being sure that the transaction has already taken place, and all that remains is to send the client his offer. But you need to control every detail yourself and clearly agree on all subsequent joint steps - calls, meetings, signing documents - so that the sale takes place.

Mistake #6- an expression of dissatisfaction with the client's actions (being late, rescheduling a meeting, refusing, etc.). The client will not want to enter into a relationship with someone who blames and reproaches him at the first meeting.

Mistake #7- extra calls to confirm the meeting (so as not to drive just like that), multiple reminders of it, etc.

Mistake #8- a rash offer of bonuses, discounts and other preferential conditions for a client who is immediately ready to buy. Inexperienced managers can take such steps out of joy that the deal went through, and disrupt the entire pricing policy your company.

At the stage of getting to know the client and establishing contact, the manager should do the following:

• understand who the customer is, what their needs are and current situation(perhaps similar clients were already in his sales practice);
• greet each other;
• create a warm and trusting environment;
• cheer up the client (with a joke, a remark on an abstract topic).

The initiative during the entire meeting should belong to the manager! After all, it is he who is interested in concluding a deal, and he also initiates negotiations, so the conversation should not be left to chance.

One of the main tasks solved by the manager during the meeting is work out the customer's need. For this, the following scheme of actions has been developed:

1. address a person by name (sometimes by name and patronymic, if a representative of the client company occupies a high position);
2. discuss the agenda of the meeting (which is especially important in conditions of limited time);
3. briefly and clearly outline the purpose of the visit and tell about yourself and your company, present the product;
4. elaborate on each need and problem reported by the client;
5. clarify all highly professional aspects that are incomprehensible to the manager, ask the client the necessary questions;
6. do not forget to maintain a light, relaxed atmosphere during the meeting (with jokes, compliments);
7. listen carefully to the interlocutor and delve into what he is talking about - any information communicated by him can be useful to you during the conversation.

One of the most crucial moments in the negotiations - sentence. When pulling it out, keep the following in mind:

• you need to offer something that meets the basic client needs;
• The proposal must detail all terms and conditions. high quality service or product and its benefits are convexly outlined;
• you need to make sure that the client understands the essence of the offer and the product itself (and do not be too lazy to explain everything again and again in simple words, if necessary, because he is not a professional in your field);
• the cost should correspond to the situation on the market and the capabilities of the client; sometimes you have to compromise, but in this case, many sales professionals recommend giving customers not discounts, but additional options and bonuses (those that cost the firm cheap or free, and make a good impression on the client).

For stage work with objections There are also some valuable tips. During a conversation, you should:

• be clear, precise and concise;
• adapt to the pace of the conversation of the interlocutor, so that it is comfortable for him to communicate and he keeps up with the course of your thought;
• remain within the framework of etiquette, behave correctly and respectfully towards the client, his colleagues and the organization as a whole;
• observe the culture of speech, avoid obscene and jargon vocabulary;
• adhere to a given distance in communication (do not come too close, do not behave familiarly);
• turn disadvantages into advantages;
• proceed from the needs and goals of the client, base his argument on them;
• express your ideas and arguments visually - with the help of diagrams, graphs, etc.

Ritual end of the meeting must also be done correctly. The last stage of the meeting with the client includes a checklist of the following items:

• agree on what actions each party should take after the meeting;
• confirm the outcome of the negotiations;
• if it is impossible to achieve the main goal of the meeting, try to solve alternative problems;
• get the client to make decisions on at least some of the issues raised;
• end the meeting on a cheerful note (with a joke, a small keepsake, etc.);
• immediately after the end of the personal meeting, send the client its protocol (see sample), which records the agreements reached, describes the actions of each of the parties and the expected time for their completion;
• stimulate the client to fulfill the agreements: call the next day, write a letter, etc.

Minutes of the meeting with the client (sample):

The main principles that a manager should follow when meeting with clients:

• do not forget that he communicates with a specific living person, and not with an organization;
• monitor the emotions and reactions of the client;
• be prepared for the fact that people think and express themselves differently, and the interlocutor may not understand and perceive a lot due to differences in your pictures of the world;
• a successful conversation is always a dialogue, not a monologue.