Love them or hate them, business meetings are par for the course when you run a company or if you’re the head of a department (and even if you’re an employee – you might still be called upon to attend a meeting) and it’s wise to know how to handle yourself when you’re conducting a meeting so you can make a good first impression.
In fact, the first business meeting you have with someone can make or break that relationship, and that can lead to major consequences – good or bad – for your business. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you make a good impression at a first business meeting.
Choose The Right Venue
Assuming you’re the one setting up and arranging the meeting, then it will be down to you to choose the location for it. If you have a smart office with a dedicated meeting room, then there isn’t really anything to consider – that will be the ideal place.
However, if you run a business that works remotely, or if your office isn’t designed to have any meeting space and it would be too cramped or doesn’t offer enough privacy, then you’ll need to look at external spaces to hold the meeting instead.
A hotel can be an excellent option, especially if you choose one that has a conference space and where the staff knows how to help when it comes to business meetings.
Hotels are large, have ample parking, and are generally fairly centrally located, not to mention there’s easy access to food and drink, so it could be a fantastic choice. No matter what venue you pick for your meeting, make sure it’s somewhere comfortable, clean, and with all the right facilities, and it will make a great first impression.
Be Punctual
If there is one thing that’s going to make people form a poor opinion of you (and, by extension, your business), it’s being late for a business meeting, especially if it’s the first business meeting you’ve ever had with them.
Being late, even if it wasn’t your fault, just gives off an air of not caring and of thinking you’re more important than the person you’re meeting with, and that’s not a good place to start off. Plus, it’s highly likely that a meeting with you isn’t the only thing that person has planned; if you’re late, you’ll be making the rest of their day difficult as well.
Make sure you leave in plenty of time to get to the meeting venue, and check the traffic or public transport before you go – if you need to find a different route, it’s better to know in advance than get stuck in traffic. Not only will arriving on time make a good first impression, but it will also mean you’re less stressed, and that means you’ll be more focused in the meeting.
Do Research
It’s also important to do your research before the meeting. If you can learn as much as possible about the person and/or the business you’re meeting with, it makes small talk easier (which helps put everyone at ease and also shows that you’re a likeable person – people enjoy doing business with people they like), and it also gives you a chance to show that you know who they are – it’s impressive, and they’ll get a good opinion of you.
If you go into the meeting not knowing anything, it’s going to feel much more difficult, and you’ll be less at ease, not to mention they won’t be impressed, which means you might not get the result you want.
