7 ways to screw up that important meeting

1. DO NOT BE LATE

I can’t stress this point enough. If you start out every meeting with a 100% chance of the person liking you, by being late you immediately drop that to 50%, at least. Don’t be late. Just don’t do it.

If you are going to be late the very least (and I mean that absolute least) you can do is contact the person before the meeting begins and tell them that you’re running a bit late. The key here is to contact them before the meeting starts. If you contact them five minutes after the meeting was meant to begin then you’re already late.

2. Know Your Audience

It’s important to know who you are meeting with. Do some research on the person and find out what they have accomplished in the past, what they’re working on right now, if they have a family or like to play tiddlywinks.

Meetings are about people so get to know the person you’re meeting.

However, you don’t want to spend the majority of your time with this new person listening to how they feel about the recent petrol increase. If you follow them on Twitter, the chances are they’ll have told you already. You want to use your meeting time as effectively as possible find out relevant bits of information that can assist your end goal, whatever that may be.

3. Learn People’s Names

Often you will arrive at a meeting and there will be more than one person present and sometimes you wont have expected those other people. It’s important that if you take the time to shake hands and introduce yourself that you remember the names of the people present.

I was in a meeting recently where one of the people shook my hand, acknowledged my name and then proceeded to call me Chris for the entire meeting. My name is Nic. Even after correcting him, twice, he still could not get a handle on my name being Nic.

Unfortunately for this person I’m going to find it hard to take anything he says seriously from here on out.

4. Don’t Oversell

Enthusiasm is a fantastic quality but sometimes enthusiasm can get in the way of closing a deal. It’s imperative to know when to step back and stop selling/talking.

I’ve done this a hundred times. I just don’t stop talking and telling the person how amazing my product is. The truth is, they heard me the first time. Now it’s time to listen (see point 5). It’s also imperative to know if the person you’re sitting with is even able to buy what your selling (see point 2). If you don’t keep quiet and stop selling, it’s very likely that you won’t hear the in you’ve been waiting for.

5. Listen

This is an obvious point but one that is often ignored. My grandfather used to say that the smartest men he knew listened 80% of the time and spoke 20% of the time.

For a long period I forgot that statement and it did me harm. I would miss the nuances of body language, spoken word and innuendo because I was unable to let the person sitting opposite me speak. You learn a lot about a person when you let them talk.

6. Know When a Meeting Is Over

There’s always a point in a meeting when both parties understand that the meeting has come to a natural end. Due to the nature of our digital calendars all of our meetings are generally scheduled to be an hour in length. Often meetings are over within thirty minutes.

I’ve always respected a person who can close a meeting. “Thank you very much for your time, let me get your coffee,” (see point 7) is a fantastically simple way to end a meeting.

You do not need to fill an entire hour with words.

If a meeting is done, let it be done. You’ll be surprised how excited people are when meetings come to an early and successful end. Most often you’ll both be happy to get back to your email or other work that you need to get done.

7. Sincerely Offer To Pay

This is a tricky tip as I know a lot of people who disagree with this as a blanket rule. Some people suggest that if you invite the person to the meeting that you should cover the coffee bill.

Personally I like the idea of offering, in a sincere way, to pay. I like to own my time and I like to let the other person know that I value their time too.

It’s also a great way of getting a feel for the person your meeting with. Some people will angrily deny you the opportunity to pay for them. Others will gladly oblige and a third group will offer to split the bill with you. Make up your own mind about what each of those reactions imply but the one that I always like to discover is the no-offer. The person who never, ever offers to pay for the coffee.

Meetings are a necessary part of business and if treated correctly can become an extremely valuable tool. Be precious with your time and that of others. One good meeting can make your business and equally, one bad meeting can end a potentially valuable relationship.