Preparation for the first meeting with the client

To build a good relationship with the client, you must prepare for each meeting, especially the first one.

Before the meeting, the manager should learn more about the client: their character, habits, work values, and preferences. This information helps reduce uncertainty and emotions, allowing for better organization and conduct of the meeting.

For example, my friend Alena works as the head of the sports department at a helicopter factory. She often orders various services from contractors. Alena has a 2-year-old daughter, so she doesn't have much time and prefers short video calls with a clear plan.

She values partners who work openly, honestly, and clearly. In meetings with her, it’s best to ask direct questions, address problems immediately, and avoid trivialities.

Every meeting starts with preparation

If the manager does not know what to discuss with the client, time will be wasted and no results will be achieved. To make the meeting effective, allocate at least 15 minutes for preparation. Start with these five points:

• Agenda
• Objective
• Agents
• Plan
• Format

Agenda

The agenda is the topic (or topics) of the meeting and answers the question, "What are we going to discuss?" It should be brief and precise to keep the conversation on track.

For example, "Discuss the work plan for a new project."

A bad example is, "Let's discuss the problems of one of the features in the project."

Objective

The objective helps the manager understand what can be achieved in the allotted time and whether a meeting is necessary. To formulate an objective, answer the question, "What do we want to achieve from the meeting?"

For our topic, the objective might be to agree on a work plan for a new project. If the objective is to approve a small feature, an email might suffice instead of a meeting.

Agents

Agents are the people without whom the objective cannot be achieved. Notify them of the meeting in advance and, if possible, agree on a convenient time with each one.

For a new project meeting, you might need programmers to implement features and someone from the client or the client themselves to agree on the work plan.

Plan

The meeting plan outlines the sequence of key topics and answers the question, "What stages does the meeting consist of and how long will they take?" Include time for greetings, informal conversations, and gathering all involved.

A meeting plan could be:

1. Greeting, familiarity, and self-introduction (1-2 minutes)
2. Announcement of the agenda, objective, plan, and format (1 minute)
3. Presentation of the work plan, reasoning of decisions (7-10 minutes)
4. Discussion of the work plan with the client, answering questions (5-7 minutes)
5. Determination of the next steps and start date (2-3 minutes)
6. Fixing agreements (2-3 minutes)

The plan is useful even for a short meeting. It helps you understand how much time to dedicate to the discussion and better plan your day. A manager with a plan will be more confident and can respond immediately if the client asks how long the conversation will last.

Format

The format includes the characteristics and limitations of the meeting, such as whether it will be a video call or in-person, at what time, and how long it will last. Answer the question, "Where and at what time will the meeting be?"

For example, the meeting will be a video call and will take approximately 30 minutes.

How to behave in a meeting

Familiarity and self-introduction

In a few minutes, the manager should talk about their role in the project, explain how they can help the client, and what tasks they will solve. Also, clarify what questions to approach them with.

A standard self-introduction algorithm:

1. Introduce yourself: name and position
2. Describe your responsibilities and show the benefit of your participation in the project
3. Assess your level of immersion in the project and express possible consequences. For example, if you are not involved from the beginning, you will need time to gather information before responding to the client
4. Offer tools for interaction (instant messengers, email) and agree on response times

Announcement of the agenda, objective, plan, and format

This is the second point of the plan. It is important to ask the client if they agree with the information or if they want to adjust something.

For example, a client may have less free time than planned. Then the agenda and plan will need to be adjusted to fit the client's availability.

Presentation of the work plan and discussion

These are the third and fourth most fundamental points of the plan. Prepare your speech in advance, rehearse it, and think about possible client questions to answer confidently and present arguments.

Generally, clients are interested in project vulnerabilities. Emphasize the strengths and justify why the weaknesses will not interfere with the work.

Fixing agreements

At the end of the meeting, discuss the main results so the client can confirm them. Also, send a follow-up email summarizing the meeting.

If agreements are not consolidated, misunderstandings may arise later, causing work to be redone.

Results

• Before the meeting, the project manager should learn more about the client: their character, habits, work values, and preferences.
• Allocate time to prepare for the meeting and schedule five points:
  • Agenda ("What are we going to discuss?")
  • Objective ("What do we want to achieve from the meeting?")
  • Agents ("Who will be needed in the meeting?")
  • Plan ("How will the meeting be structured?")
  • Format ("Where and at what time will the meeting be?")
• The meeting plan can include:
  • Greeting, familiarity, and self-introduction
  • Announcement of the agenda, objective, plan, and format
  • Presentation of the work plan and its discussion with the client
  • Determination of the next steps
  • Fixing agreements with the client