The first impression is the one that your clients remember and make a perception of your company and about you. You never get a second chance to make a great first impression, as the old saying goes.   

Englander Line Ltd propose you its top tips for screening a new customer that will have you both feeling good and confident in your new-found relationship:

• When you have a meeting set up with a customer, it is why they need your help in solving a problem, for which you need to prepare.
• Preparation starts from your first correspondence with the client or from the moment they were referred to you. Understanding just what your client does is not enough, you need to know everything you can find about your customer before you meet your client. Well-prepared teams have a great impact on the customer relationships, that can vastly increase the value of the company in the long term.
• You need to get the customer to trust you and hire you. This doesn’t mean you need to get right down to business. You should take a few minutes to get to know your client. Make a small talk. Ask about something. A human way helps smooth out conflicts in the first meeting and throughout the whole time of cooperation. Don’t be “seller” and “the customer.” Be two friends working together. Being professional is key to making the sale, but having a little fun before you start that meeting can help you get energized.
• Make sure the right people are from your team. If you meet only one customer (without client’s team), you don’t need to go in ideally with more than 2 from your team.
• You should act like every meeting is the only one you’ll ever get in your life.
• Show your customer that you can accomplish more when you’re together. The goal of your meeting is to help your customer. You should speak a lot, and that’s not bad. But you also must use every opportunity for your client to speak.You should listen to what they think is most important, and you need offer your guidance. Also, ask for feedback at every opportunity.
• Take minutes or ask your assistant to note meeting highlights and decisions.
• Once the meeting is over, go any final subjects. Ask the customer if there are any questions or doubts.This will means to the client that you have their best interest. After you have summarized all steps and who will do what, and when, be sure to thank everyone for their contribution.
• After the meeting, you should always follow up with a summary of any important takeaways from the discussion. You need send this both to your customer and to any internal company staff involved with the project.

Engaging with a new client can be hard, especially for someone new to any industry, but there are many variants a professional can do to ensure they are well prepared and feel less pressured during their first consultation. Client meetings are best opportunities for all teams trying to gain traction in the market.