Client meetings
Finally, the point where all of these issues come together is often at the first meeting. It is here that management of the informal, intuitive and emotional factors comes into play. The first point of contact forms the emotional launch pad from which all impressions are formed and judgements made that underpin the psychological contract. Critically, it is here that the psychological theories of primacy and recency come into play. At the end of the first meeting, the two experiences remembered by you and the client are the open and closing events. Any discussion in between is unlikely to be well retained in the client's memory. It is these opening and closing behaviours that help to drive the client's overall impression of you and your capability to deliver.
The onus is on you to ensure that at a minimum, these two phases are tightly stage-managed and that the client is left with positive memories. It might help if you adopt the "intro-outro" meeting structure as a subtle framework to aid the flow of the first and successive interactions. The intro structure is:
Introductions: Introduce self, include background, previous experience in this industry or market and ask client to position themselves.
Need: Confirm why the meeting has been called and what the drivers are.
Range: What will be covered and, more importantly, what will be outside the boundary of the discussion.
The closing "outro" structure covers:
Overview: Offer your perception of what has been discussed and agreed. Stress any actions, responsibilities and dates that have been locked in during the session.
Understanding: Check with the client to draw out their understanding of actions agreed.
Test: Confirm that your perceptions align with the initial objective agreed for the meeting.
Review: Discuss what the next steps will be for you, the client and any other people.
Outlook: Close with the outlook for the future, end on a positive affirmation. Particularly, make sure that the client is left with a clear understanding of the positive outcomes that have been achieved and what the next steps are.
The difference between a good and bad opening to a meeting can be likened to the experience of seeing a film. A good film will contain a series of sub-sections that leads the viewer seamlessly and effortlessly through the experience. Although the director and screenwriter will be able to identify each of the components within the story, the viewer will just see the film as a total experience. The success of many films is that people are keen to repeat the experience and so return to see the next instalment. This is precisely the feeling that the client must experience. You must create in your client a desire to meet again so that the ideas and propositions are developed further. However, the converse is a bad film, one where the opening is weak and the ending does not align with the opening gambit or is also weak. Consequently, the viewer is unlikely to have any desire to repeat the experience.
Although in many ways the specific detail of the intro-outro structure might appear too formal for some meetings, the underlying principles are applicable for all types of interaction - the casual conversation on a train, the passing comments as cards are exchanged at a conference or the phone call from someone who reads one of your articles. Although the content and context of the interaction might vary, the core principle is that you must be able and willing to own and stage-manage the interaction process. So even if the exchange is a short one, the impression that you leave will have far more impact on your ability to close the sale than any perceived expertise in a particular field.