To Meet Or Not To Meet?

To Meet Or Not To Meet?

At a time when our working conditions and environment have drastically changed (possibly permanently), the essential task of MEETINGS has become the biggest subject of scrutiny.

• Do we still meet clients, prospects and staff?
• Is it safe to meet clients, prospects and staff?

In Banking (and B2B Sales), the answer is a very simple “YES”. 

If you have staff, the answer is definitely “YES”.

I define a meeting as “an exchange with clients, prospects or staff where needs/solutions are discussed and follow up actions can occur.” For businesses to survive, these meetings are essential.

I understand that in this digital age, consumers (and some businesses) can “buy online”. Open accounts. Get a credit card. Apply for a mortgage.

But all financial institutions offer valuable, complex solutions to make people’s lives better. These can only be effectively offered by meeting a client or prospect to comprehensively explore their needs, challenges and goals.

Remember the key to success is to OPEN RELATIONSHIPS not close transactions. And this can only be effectively achieved by MEETING your clients and prospects.

Your staff may be working remotely, but they still need clarity, consistency and coaching. If you were meeting as a team prior to the pandemic, there is no reason why that should change.

And if you were not holding team meetings, you now have an even bigger reason to start. How do you inspire greater confidence and productivity without meeting?

As I have stated previously, social distancing does NOT mean social disregard. If you are in the business of helping others, then without meetings you have no business.

So here are some tips on how you can still safely conduct productive and valuable meetings today.

In-Person Meetings

• Embrace / Respect Meeting Conditions
• Minimize Contact … But Still Connect
• Leverage Circumstances (Credible Reasons) to explore challenges
• Follow a Formal Meeting Process so you can offer appropriate solutions / advice
• Send a Follow Up Email

Phone Meetings

• Formally Schedule 30 – 60 minutes
• Good For First Meeting & Discovery
• Email Invite and Agenda
• Don’t Do All The Talking
• Script Questions
• Follow a Formal Meeting Process so you can offer appropriate solutions / advice
• Send a Follow Up Email

Video Conference

• Next Best Thing to In-Person – Schedule 60 mins
• Great for Existing Clients and Referral Partners
• Assume Target Is Agreeable / Familiar
• Master Video Conference Platforms and Embrace Meeting Setting
• Email Invite (with Link & Instructions) and Agenda
• Use Screen Share – for Proposals, Docs and Presentations
• Take Notes (notify prospect)
• Acknowledge Value & Convenience
• Follow a Formal Meeting Process so you can offer appropriate solutions / advice
• Send a Follow Up Email

Presentations / Webinars

• Be Purposeful and Prepared
• Focus on Needs/Problems & Solutions
• Be Deliberate About Invitations and Follow Up
• Be Engaging During Presentation
• Leverage Value Provided to Further Engage Participants
• Proactively Follow Up Participants

Networking / Events

• Be Purposeful and Prepared
• Embrace Networking Conditions
• Bring a Guest
• Be Interesting By Being Interested – Ask Questions
• Proactively Follow Up Participants

With so many ways to still meet …. I strongly encourage you to be proactive and keep engaging your clients, prospects and staff during this challenging time. Remember, they WANT to meet with you.

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Article written by Joe Micallef – Sales Strategist & Coach – Grow UP Sales. For more advice on how to better obtain or conduct meetings with prospects please email joe@growupsales.com or visit the webpage www.growupsales.com

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