For all of the business development (BD) training and coaching I've provided as a consultant to the A/E/C industry (to professional service firms and vendors to the industry), it's rare that I observe a client directly during a BD meeting. Recently, an opportunity arose to be a "fly on the wall" for a client to whom I had provided lead generation assistance. Ever since that meeting, I've been chomping at the bit to share what I learned.

As hard as it was, I kept my mouth shut through the entire meeting, busily taking notes and making observations about my client (what he said and didn't say) and the prospect (what he asked; his body language). After the meeting, I walked my client out and stayed to debrief the prospect (an architect friend of mine). It was sort of a BD lab, minus the fingerprint analysis.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I can be picky and detail-oriented. Now that my confessional is complete, I present the following advice based on what I observed. Note that while my suggestions assume the meeting is with a prospective client, much of the same applies to existing clients.

Prior to the Meeting:

• Understand and anticipate your prospect's pain points and know what keeps him/her up at night.

• With respect to your firm's services/products, be sure you can clearly articulate:
  
  • How they address your prospect's pain points and make them (or their clients) more successful
  • Qualitatively speaking, the value conveyed (this should be customized to the prospect — not a "one size fits all" proposition)
  • Why your service/product is superior to competitors' offerings
  
  The prospect shouldn't have to drag this information out of you during the meeting!

• Establish/reinforce rapport with your prospect.
  
  • Take a deep breath before entering the room, and practice smiling if you need to. Smiling relaxes both you and others (a caveat: visit the restroom before your meeting to avoid the embarrassing "pesto-in-teeth" phenomenon).
  • Take note of what's on the walls of your meeting room. This could provide clues to the individual's family, passions outside of work, professional association involvement, alma mater, and many other conversation "connectors" that facilitate relationship-building. If your business model necessitates selling to architects, you may find a set of drawings lying around — the perfect entrée to learn more about a particular project.
  • Ask probing, often open-ended questions. Your goal is to get them to talk. Then, keep your mouth closed until either they convey a challenge that you can address or they ask a question. Examples of useful questions include:
    
    • "In reviewing your web site (or print article about your company), I see that you….
    • "What have been your biggest challenges/frustrations with respect to…? "
    • "Tell me more about Project XYZ."
    • "What do you know about our firm?"

• To the extent that you can control it, the pace of the meeting should be deliberate, but not rushed. Speaking fast and rushing through a presentation indirectly conveys the concern that the value of what you're trying to sell does not warrant the person's time. Instead (without ignoring cues), adopt the attitude that your client cannot afford to not hire you/your firm.

• Carefully read verbal cues. To do this, one needs to maintain eye contact. If more than one person is present, be sure not to focus solely on the perceived decision-maker.

• Most people feel more at ease having a thoughtful discussion versus presenting/being presented to — never lose sight of this! In the meeting I attended, it was clear that my client was relaxed and at his best when fielding questions and participating in a robust discussion with his prospect. In contrast, his introduction and "elevator speech" were rushed, stilted, and ripe with nervousness. So go easy on yourself and the prospect — present less and engage more.

• Stay on message and don't digress unless your prospect invites you to do so. When this happens, be sure to steer the conversation back to the subject at hand so you don't run out of time.

• What additional questions do you have?

• What additional information can I provide?

• Are there others within your organization I should meet with?

• When are you planning to… begin soliciting proposals/make a decision/etc.?

Friedman & Partners is a marketing and management consulting firm serving the U.S. and Canadian A/E/C and environmental consulting industries. Our niche is in crafting and implementing growth strategies through:

• Market research
• Strategic market planning
• Market positioning and PR strategy/implementation
• Business development consulting and training
• Mergers and acquisitions research and outreach
• Organizational and leadership development consulting