The All Points Team Shares How to Best Prepare for Client Meetings and Conferences
October 9, 2018
In our recent seminar, Director Bailey Hewitt and Account Lead Mackenzie Coopman shared the best practices for traveling to client meetings and conferences. There is a significant amount of preparation that goes into successful client meeting and conferences, and the duo covered all of the essentials and prep necessary for before, during and after each client interaction.
Bailey and Mackenzie kicked off their informative presentation with purpose, as the pair explained that it’s important to define your purpose in each client meeting and conference. These gatherings serve to build and strengthen client relationships, learn more about the client, discuss strategies, plus much more. In addition to defining your purpose, it’s important to ask yourself questions to effectively establish the technicalities and the goals of each meeting.
The “before” stage requires careful preparation over the course of a few weeks leading up to the meeting, including office prep, travel arrangements, collection of materials, plus proper items and attire to pack. While each stage holds its own significance, this planning stage is crucial to ensure the next two stages go as smoothly as possible. As a helpful tool for the team, Bailey and Mackenzie passed around copies of checklists for everything needed during client meetings and conferences.
In the “during” stage, Bailey and Mackenzie reminded the team of what can be expected out of these client interactions, and what exactly is expected out of our team to ensure the client is on the same page regarding the goals and initiatives of our work. They also shared several ways to make the most out of client visits, such as taking notes, participating in any sessions or roundtable discussions and taking opportunities to network with others.
Finally, the two wrapped up their presentation by sharing immediate action items after each meeting or conference, which include briefing the team and recapping the takeaways for the client. These items help establish the next steps for the account after a successful meeting.
Both seasoned travelers for the All Points team, Bailey and Mackenzie were able to weave in their own personal experiences and takeaways as well to make for an effective seminar on meeting clients and building relationships.
