Most of us realise the importance of making a good first impression. However, it is equally important to continue to build a positive impression with your client at every opportunity.
Some of the quicker ways to lose credibility at pre-proposal meetings with clients are to:
- not thoroughly research your client and the issues they are facing
- not plan for your meeting
- not ask questions about their business challenges and objectives
- not offer any insights beyond the obvious
- share privileged information about their competitors.
Remember, meetings with your client are a great way to establish rapport and importantly, build valuable credibility.
Poorly prepared proposals and presentations are also credibility killers.
Whilst your meeting may have been successful in establishing genuine value in the eyes of your client, your proposal or presentation will be wasted effort if it does nothing to reinforce your message. Common mistakes are:
- starting out with you firm’s history, overview or mission statement
- not demonstrating that you have a strong understanding of their business and issues
- using generic template content which has not been carefully tailored
- delivering a presentation or proposal that’s not professional, persuasive and clear
- typographical and grammatical errors
- poor production standards.
Careful planning of meetings, proposals, and presentations will ensure that you build … not lose … credibility at every step of the way.
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