By Linda Julian
All important first meetings
November 27, 2013 | Posted in: Business Development Skills | Tags: client relationships
When you have an opportunity to meet with a new business or commercial client, be prepared.
Here’s a quick checklist of “homework” for your first meetings.
- Check out their website
- Run through background issues on the company, industry, and its competitors
- Find out, if you can, who currently handles their legal work
- Think through the legislative, statutory, and regulatory environment they face
- Try to get some background on the person you’ll be meeting – career and personal background, any mutual acquaintances, any shared experiences
- List a few questions or issues to explore during your meeting
- Go in with an open mind, genuinely interested in learning about the client and their business.
You can never be over-prepared – but be ready to be flexible and engaged.
For more help on making the most of first meetings with potential clients, please get in touch
Select articles
Feature article
Tender readability – tips to improve your tender presentation and some tender presentation no-nos
Tender readability remains a problem for some in the 21st century. I still see submission documents that cling to a handful of really old hat tender presentation and formatting techniques. I suspect this is because some of these ‘rules’ are viewed as being more appropriate to a ‘formal’ style of document such as a tender. […]
