© 2008, Business Influence, All Rights Reserved www.businessinfluence.com.au

16 Ways to Succeed in External Meetings

By Darren Bourke – Director of Business Influence Pty Ltd 1. Get out there. Being invisible would have to be one of the greatest barriers to success. No-one can get to know you, understand you, find you or offer you business when you're in your office. Make a commitment to regularly catch up with people in your network. 2. Be proactive not passive. Be proactive in you behaviours. When there's an opportunity to invite someone to meet up together, get on the front foot and invite them. Alternatively, when others suggest meeting up don't go for the default response of saying no unless you have to. Proactive people win more than passive people. 3. Frequency is key. Don't fall for the trap of scheduling a whole bunch of meetings a few times during the year. Good business people have a consistent and regular flow of external meetings. 4. Pick the right medium. Understand the individual you're meeting with, the relationship you have and the nature of your meeting. This is important as the venue and medium set the scene. Taking a person you don't know to a fine dining restaurant may be misleading and confusing for your guest. I find that coffees, breakfasts or light lunches work well as they are reasonably informal and allow either attendee to easily get away to their next commitment. 5. Everyone deserves a go. Try and be inclusive rather than exclusive in meeting up with others. I don't suggest you have to meet up with the taxi driver you had last night. But be open to giving every individual a chance. If it doesn't work out for you, there's no pressure to meet up again. What's the downside? I rarely have had a bad coffee. 6. Be genuine. It's important to be yourself in external meetings. If you try and position yourself or take on a persona which is not you, the other party will invariably detect this. You want the other individual to connect with you not an actor. Be yourself and be authentic. 7. Care. When you're with somebody, genuinely care about your time together. Try and understand, empathise and listen to the other person and their needs and frustrations. When you are disinterested or self serving the other person concludes that you don't care about them. Permanently. 8. Be generous. Don't be afraid to be generous and this is linked to picking the right medium. Offer to pick up the tab for the coffee more often than not. Shout people a drink or a meal. Offer to do them a favour at no cost or obligation just because you want to. Monetary or non-monetary generosity is always noticed and remembered long after the meeting.

© 2008, Business Influence, All Rights Reserved www.businessinfluence.com.au

9. Help, don't Sell. Helping first and selling later is a critical piece in this puzzle. When you concentrate on how you can help someone, the opportunity to make a contribution to them opens. When you are in help mode you tend to stop being self interested and purely focus on the problem or challenge to be solved without bias. Individuals are then more trusting and appreciative of your discussion and are more likely to show interest in assisting you. 10. Connect people. One of the wonderful benefits of external meetings is the chance to introduce and connect people you know. When you honestly believe that it would be mutually beneficial for two individuals you know to meet, be a leader and organise a meeting that you facilitate. If that's not appropriate, introduce them by phone or email. 11. Refer business where you can. This is linked to proactivity. When you see an opportunity to refer business to an individual in a meeting, don't hold back. Asking them if they'd be interested in you referring them to someone you believe they can help is a great and noble thing to do where appropriate. 12. Introduce other businesses. When you are in the process of seeing how you can help the other individual in your meeting, there is often the opportunity to mention other businesses (not you) that could help them. Forwarding a contact from your network sends a terrific message about you to both parties. 13. Go where the love is. I'm a great believer in spending more time with people I like and less time with those I don't. This is of course based on those individuals I know. While I recommend giving everyone a go, life is too short to keep meeting people that you don't connect with. 14. Prompt follow up. After external meetings, prompt follow up is key. If you want to send an email with an article, your brochure or other material do it within twenty four hours. If you offer to introduce them to someone or provide a contact, do it promptly. Your follow up is the affirming behaviour behind the image you have created in your meeting. 15. Say thank you. Thank people for their time. If they bought you a coffee or lunch, thank them appreciably. If they referred you some work or a contact, take time out to let them know how you went as people enjoy hearing the outcome of their initiatives. 16. Keep in touch. This is key to closing the loop. Think about how you keep in touch with people. Do you diarise a follow up meeting? Do they receive a newsletter or blog from you because you've put them on your list? Where do we go from here is the question you should ask after every external meeting. © Darren Bourke, Business Influence, 2008. You are welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete (including the “about the author” information at the end). Darren Bourke is a Consultant, Business Coach & Mentor who helps small & medium businesses struggling to maximise profitability, productivity, people and performance. His Free Report titled What Successful Owners of Growth Businesses Do That You Don’t, newsletter and updates are full of strategies and tips to make your business boom. Sign up now at www.businessinfluence.com.au