Sponsored Post

Breathing new life into meetings with your clients can prove to be beneficial all round. The last thing you want when you are discussing business with new and existing clients is for them to lose interest.  

Meetings are essential if you want to build relationships, correctly communicate, and share relevant information to your customers and prospects. Any information introduced at meetings has to be delivered in a way that ensures it is easily absorbed, especially if you want to make a lasting impression.

Gone are the days of boardroom meetings that require attendees to sit around one table and listen to a presentation before being allowed to ask questions. Now, it is more important to ensure attendees are interactive, involved in discussions and are listened to.

So, what can you do you to make your meetings more engaging? How can you reform them for the better? With this in mind, here are four ways you can transform your client meetings.

1.     Conduct Initial Planning:

The first thing to do if you are planning a meeting is to establish exactly what you want to gain from it. Being adequately prepared is essential; this includes having answers for potential questions and asking the right questions yourself. It is very important you make time to listen during meetings, for the only way you can understand exactly what you need to deliver is to make sure you are prepared to listen. Plan to take notes on your client's feedback to avoid missing key information.

Try to do some research on your clients. It always helps to know about the people you are doing business with and it will impress them if you know what their goals are, the companies' history and whether they have any competition.

A great way to plan your approach is to know how you want to relay information to your clients. The best way of doing this is to create a meeting agenda that depicts all topics for discussion. Always include success stories as proof of your abilities and make sure any success you point out is relevant to your audience.

2.     Determine the Type of Meeting:

Now you have outlined what should be achieved from your meeting, you should think about the location and decide where would be appropriate. Setting up a meeting in a conference room is standard but, to totally reform a client meeting for the better, you should think outside the box. Remove yourself and your attendees from the office environment and get them excited about their meeting with you.

Taking your clients to a corporate hospitality event can maximise your potential for generating a return on investment (ROI). If you correctly carried out your planning you should know the likes and dislikes of your clients. Most corporate hospitality companies, such as VIP Event Butler cater for a variety of events. Would they enjoy a trip to the races? Or maybe a day at Wimbledon? The benefits of hosting a corporate meeting like this are plentiful, you can invite likeminded people and discuss business in a relaxed and less formal way. Conducting a meeting in such a manor will most certainly produce positive reactions from your clients - reactions that will be enhanced by the enjoyment of their time with you.

3.     Fun and Interaction:

Taking your clients out of the office environment will provide you with the perfect opportunity to incorporate fun and interaction into your meetings. For example - if you are at the races, this will come from the action on the track, alongside the interaction among attendees at your hospitality table. If you are taking part in something where discussions can be had, such as a round of golf or a team building event, then the fun will come from the game and the interaction before, during and after.

Making sure you get the most from your meeting is easily done. If the participants are fully enjoying themselves, they are more likely to absorb information you relay to them. Equally they will be more likely to engage in conversation.

4.     Follow-up:

After you have held/hosted a meeting, make sure that you follow up on it. Get some feedback and find out your clients like/dislikes of the meeting. A follow up might be expected if you are trying to sell a product. Contacting your client for feedback will be well received and can help you with any future meetings. The conversation during this call will likely lead onto a discussion concerning the subject of the meeting, where you can find out if your meeting had the desired influence on your client.

Make sure you actively listen at this stage - it is vital if you want to make sure you can deliver exactly what your client wants and needs. If your client knows you are listening they will feel more valued; meaning they will be more likely to take your advice on board and can lead to a stronger business relationship.

Lastly, don't forget to thank your client for their time and interest in your meeting. In business time is a very precious commodity and your client will not have given it away lightly.