Blog

Meetings are a very ordinary and necessary happening in the business world today. They are a staple of the daily grind, the excitement of the kickoff, the introduction of new faces. There are many ways to engage in meetings, especially now with programs such as GoToMeeting, Skype and others. Meetings can happen whenever, wherever and with whomever.

The success of the meeting hinges on a few factors. This week we had an in-office meeting with a new client. As a team we had been debriefed weeks before the upcoming kickoff, allowing us to become familiar with the history of the client and the particular industry focus. The main focus was to go in prepared. They had come to us with a problem and had entrusted us to solve that problem. Our individual areas of expertise together is how that solution is ultimately cultivated and delivered.

To start our process we research. We look, we ask questions- questions that we may or may not have answers for at the time. Coming to the table with questions will ensure engaging and meaningful conversation that the client will ultimately welcome.


In this particular instance we felt it would be necessary to come to the table with various ideas, conceptual thoughts and visuals that would essentially help excite the client and to again help facilitate the conversation further. A mood board and simple wireframe pinpointing specific areas of importance were constructed to help facilitate the meeting.

As this meeting was face-to-face, which I typically prefer, first impressions are always important and certainly count. I have always believed that confidence and truthfulness were two important aspects to adhere to in any meeting situation. Yes, you should be clean and tidy with a trimmed-up beard, but at the end off the day the connection to the client, your personality, how you carry yourself will be more impactful in the end. Coming across as someone who believes in what they are talking about and are confident and convicted will have greater success than someone coming in fumbling their words and making up unsupported stories just to impress. In this particular case the clients were just as casual as our team and the conversion that spiked in the meeting inception carried though comfortably throughout the entire meeting.

Our team kept the client on track by having a short but succinct agenda of key points. This allows the client to stay focused and on track as well, ultimately leading to meeting success.


Our delivery of the prepared visuals was received extremely well by the client. The team leads all spoke with conviction about what the initial thoughts, ideas and concepts were. Faces can tell so much, and we immediately knew that we had pointed in the right direction. The momentum helped to build continued excitement for all parties and in the end the clients knew that they had put the project in the right hands.

In conclusion, the clients left us with some final words, “Great meeting, great designs.” A successful project hinges on what happens from the beginning, setting the table for success. Decisions you make will ultimately impact the project in very major ways. Make it fun, know and mean what you say, and be confident and trust yourself.