Alchemis has set you a really good quality meeting and now it’s up to you to maximise the opportunity.

Here are our top 5 tips for making sure you achieve your first meeting objective of securing a second meeting.

1. Research the prospect, their marketplace and their competitors with the aim of developing opinions, observations and insights – these insights show you’ve done your research, that you’re capable of independent thought and also allow you to bridge the gap between the social niceties and the business end of the meeting

2. Always set the scene – signpost the journey and state the desired destination up front. Pre-closing makes the end of the meeting more relaxed for everyone

3. Do NOT bore the prospect with a Powerpoint presentation – take sharp tools (aka case studies) and leave your comfort blanket at home

4. Prepare and ask a series of planned and considered questions, giving you the information you want from the meeting – focus on their challenges and priorities

5. Pre-empt the prospect’s likely objectives to using you; putting objections on the table allows you to deal with them or at the very least, lets you know why they won’t be using you

1. Consider what really sets your business apart from your competitors and what your competitors are doing that you’re not – be really honest, there’s no point in being defensive.

2. List all the reasons why your agency is suited to the markets that you work in and try to remember what initially attracted you to these markets.

3. Identify the specific issues that are currently facing the market sectors your clients and prospects work in and showcase how you have helped your clients tackle these challenges.

4. List all the objections you have encountered in your efforts to win new clients and develop a pre-emptive strategy to overcome these.

5. Use your intuition and empirical evidence in equal measures to help you decide how you can best evolve into the agency you have always wanted to be.

I’m often asked by prospective and current clients about what makes a good business developer, the assumption often being that it’s all about the gift of the gab.

This couldn’t be further from the truth; effective business development is all about listening and being genuinely interested in your clients’ and your prospects’ challenges, priorities and their marketing and business goals.

Effective salespeople are almost always extremely organised, although not to the exclusion of their passion about their offer or their business. Equally important is the ability to get on the same wavelength as your prospect or client, helping to build a strong working relationship based on both chemistry and trust.

There are no great secrets to effective business development; it’s a relatively straightforward process based on common sense and hard work.

Does anyone else have any tips or opinions?