Never underestimate the power of first impressions. Your first three minutes with a new prospect is your opportunity to put your prospect at ease and gain insights into his or her thinking. The approach you use can begin building trust or destroy the new opportunity.
The opening of your first visit with a new prospect is about establishing rapport as a foundation for building trust and confidence. Connect with the person before talking about business.
Your meeting begins the moment you greet your prospect. Be sincere and enthusiastic when you introduce yourself. Maintain eye contact and ask a question that requires a personal response about them (“How was your weekend?” etc.).
Then, try these 3 simple steps in the initial minutes of your meeting:
- Agree on the purpose (Why you requested the meeting): Seek a mutual understanding with the prospect about the purpose for your visit. By establishing that purpose together with your prospect, you establish clear expectations for your meeting. Discuss your meeting goals and secure your prospect’s agreement. Then, solicit your prospect’s goals and acknowledge them. This reduces uncertainty and pressure, easing your prospect’s concern that you might be wasting time or trying to manipulate the situation. NOTE: Before your meeting, visit their website to learn what you can and to get news or information that will make your questions more compelling.
- Create a focus for your discussion (How you plan to facilitate the meeting): Let the prospect know that you first plan to learn about their business and request permission to ask a few questions. Explain that you are eager to achieve the prospect’s goals and will make time to answer all questions. If you’ve clarified this process, then the prospect will be more at ease. Also, you won’t be rushed to describe your offering before you have completed this initial discovery of needs.
- Ask the prospect for feedback: Finally, before you begin the needs discovery process, advise your prospect that you respect the time being provided and will ask for his or her feedback at the end of the meeting. This confirms that you are open, trustworthy and most interested in serving them. It encourages the prospect to be more actively engaged during the meeting.
People prefer to buy from people rather than faceless organizations. Use your first few minutes with a new prospect to connect with the person before you talk about business.
How do you make your first minutes with a new prospect compelling?
What could be done differently to improve the focus of these first minutes?
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