The first meeting with a potential client is a big victory. This is an opportunity to understand each other better and see if a partnership can flourish. How do you make the most of the time? To ensure your first session with any lead is a success, focus on the following three goals.

1. Make Sure It’s a Good Fit

Your offering isn’t right for every company, and even well-qualified leads may not be a great fit. At this stage in the dialog, it’s essential to find out if both parties can work together. 

Ask questions about the prospect’s challenges and priorities, and offer content that shows where your offering fits into their strategies for growth. Your role should be trusted consultant, not self-interested seller. By the end of the meeting, you’ll know if there’s real potential for a partnership. If not, don’t hesitate to walk away. Forcing a fit is a bad use of everyone’s time.

2. Build Trust

Choosing a vendor is a big decision. Make the wrong choice, and a company wastes money and invaluable time. To win their business, you first need to win their trust and make them feel confident in the decision to work with you. 

Make it happen by listening as much or more than you speak at the first meeting. Top-performing sales reps talk less than 50% of the time. When it’s your turn to talk, ask questions and put the contact first. Closing the deal shouldn’t be your focus at this time, and pushing too hard will only shut down conversation. Instead, make it clear that you hear their concerns and want to find solutions together.

3. Earn a Second Meeting

A sales rep should always use the first meeting to secure a second. That doesn’t mean holding back information or using gimmicky enticements. Aim for a compelling, in-depth conversation that leaves the contact eager to hear more. 

Use your time together to share as much meaningful information as you can. All of your most relevant content should be at the ready so you can answer questions and demonstrate value. This way, your contact will arrive at the next meeting ready to move the conversation forward, whether that means achieving buy-in from other stakeholders or closing the deal. 

Make First Meetings Count

You only get one first meeting. Make sure you’re ready to win the second with help from StorySlab. Our comprehensive sales enablement platform organizes all your content in a single, easy-to-use app. It makes sharing easy and lets you see exactly how content is used to bolster sales success. Book a demo to see how to improve your sales conversations with StorySlab.