prepare a range of questions.
by martin bissett
do you feel uncomfortable meeting with a new client because you don’t know how to start the conversation?
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if so, you’re not alone, as this is one of the most common issues partners talk to me about. they don’t want to come across as artificial, forced or pushy.
there are probably fewer than 10 things a prospect might say when you first meet. these can range from hi, how are you doing? to what are you doing here? to i told the person on the phone i wasn’t interested in meeting with you. there are only so many things they can say, so if you are prepared for each one, then a conversation can have a natural start.
people generally like to talk about themselves, and that is true of most business owners. so one good way of building rapport is to ask them a question that allows them to talk about themselves and their business.
here are some starter questions you can use for this purpose:
- tell me, in running this business you’re obviously very busy, and yet you’ve set aside time to meet with me today even though we’ve never met before. so what was important enough for you to take time for our meeting?
- can you tell me a little about how the business has got to where it is now?
- five years ago, did you think you would be where you are now? did you think you’d be further on or not so far on?
- it’s interesting that you’re in the (name of industry sector, e.g. manufacturing sector) and that’s been quite tough recently. how have things been for your business over the past three years?
you can use these or develop others for yourself, as long as they are nice, genuine, open conversation starters. you want to make the prospect feel at ease with you so that he/she will be comfortable trusting you with potentially sensitive information. you want him/her to open up here, so don’t use a closed question that can be answered with yes or no, or another single word.
if you can do this, you won’t feel as if you are trying to sell something. instead, it will feel like two professional peers talking about the issues one is facing and how the other can help.
business development task
1. schedule specific, non-interruptible time in your diary to identify questions to ask in a first meeting, as well as how you will respond to a number of different ways the prospect might begin the conversation.