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 objections 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

As Managing Director of Alchemis, a business development agency specialising in helping creative, marketing and strategic agencies win business, I am often asked how to maximise the new business appointments we set up for our clients.

Here are my top 10 business generation tips for ensuring that you make the most of any current or future opportunities.

1. The purpose of a first meeting is to get a second meeting.
2. Ensure your pre-meeting research enables you to develop an observation or an opinion on the prospect’s marketplace and/or the challenges they are facing.
3. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes and consider why they should buy from you.
4. Equally, consider why they might not buy from you.
5. Develop your pitch and your collateral to reflect points 3 and 4.
6. Set the scene at the beginning of the meeting through effective signposting.
7. Always state your desired destination at the beginning of the meeting; in other words, close at the start of the meeting.
8. Develop a checklist of information you need from the prospect and then develop a series of open and progressive questions to help elicit this information.
9. Pre-empt any likely objections to your offer.
10. Do NOT make your prospects suffer from death by PowerPoint!

We offer sales coaching to all our clients to help them maximise the meetings that we set up for them and would be happy to talk to you in more detail about this element of our service offer.

Has anyone else got any tips for first meetings? Does anyone disagree with any of my pointers?