How to determine at the first meeting whether the client is promising

Sometimes at the first meeting with a potential client it can be quite difficult to determine how promising and mutually beneficial your future cooperation in a particular area is. However, there are several simple rules for a good leader, the timely follow-up of which can help determine, based on the results of the first interview, whether the next client is promising.

Instruction manual

1

Always have on hand a constantly updated list of companies and individuals, cooperation with which can be fruitful for your organization. If the potential client is not yet on this list, independently or with the assistance of the company's security service, collect all the necessary information about him.

2

Pay attention to how punctual the client who came to you at the first interview. If he arrived more than half an hour before the scheduled time, then this may indicate first of all that he has an excess of free time and most likely, you are one of the first serious customers or partners for him. If he arrived more than 10 minutes late, this does not indicate his workload (usually serious business people pre-calculate the time), but disorganization, and what usually follows from this is unreliability.

3

Always remember that appearance is deceiving. A man who is well-groomed and dressed with a needle can turn out to be a cunning swindler, and an inconspicuous bespectacled man in jeans and a sweater can easily turn millions over.

4

First, ask a potential client several questions directly related to his motives for contacting you. Motives can be different: practical people usually focus on logical reasons (safety and profit) in their discussions about the prospects of a contract. Beginners can often deviate somewhat from the topic and start talking about the emotional component of future cooperation (convenience, the desire to work with you). In any case, try not to go on about the client and not succumb to flattery and persuasion.

5

Ask the client a few questions that are not directly related to the contract you are discussing. This will help you determine how widely it will be possible to use the abilities of this client in the future.

6

Offer him one or two situations related to your future cooperation in order to assess the speed of his reaction and decide for himself whether he should be counted on in case of force majeure.

7

Pay attention to how the client behaves when talking about money. An overly worried or overly calm client can be potentially dangerous.