When you run a business, a lot of the meetings you’ll conduct will be online these days. That’s a positive thing in many ways since it means you can meet with many more people than you might normally be able to, and that could lead to better business growth. However, there will still be times when face-to-face meetings are better, and in some cases, that will mean not just taking care of your clients or potential clients through the meeting itself but afterwards too. You may need to entertain them for an evening or two. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you make the most of this opportunity and to ensure everyone has a good time that leaves them with a positive impression of your business.
Ask Them
If you’ve never met the people you’re going to need to entertain before and you don’t know a lot about them (or even if you do), one of the best ways to ensure they have a good time and you do the right thing is to ask them what they want to do. It could be that they have an idea already, and perhaps they have researched your town or city. They might, for example, want to eat in a specific restaurant, see a show, visit some sights, or hire Essex Escorts. It could be anything, but until you know what it is they want to do, it’s going to be impossible to organise something for them.
Therefore, it’s best to ask them ahead of time – at least a week, and ideally two or more – so they can let you know what it is they would like to do and allow you time to book events and tables and to ensure everything is in place. They’ll be happy and you’ll know you’ve done everything they wanted.
Don’t Talk About Business
Once you are out with your clients, it’s going to be very tempting to talk about business. That’s what brought you all together in the first place; it’s the very reason they are there and why you are entertaining them.
Try not to do this if possible (if they bring it up, that is different, of course, as it means they are keen to discuss that aspect of things). What you really want is for them to have an enjoyable evening and to give them a chance to unwind – and most of the time, that’s what they’ll want too. If you try to talk about business and how the meeting went and what you can do for them, this could give them a poor impression of you. The happier they are on their evening out, the more likely it is they will want to work with you, so there is no need to push things.
Listen When They Talk
Something that will ensure your clients have a good time and get a good impression of you and your business, but something that can easily be overlooked, is listening to them when they talk.
When you take a client out to dinner, to a club, to a show, or anything else, make sure you are listening well. Answer their questions, find interesting comparisons in your life when they tell you a story, and generally be interested in what they are saying.
Not only is this polite and will make them feel positively towards you, but it will also give you a lot of additional information which could help in negotiations at a later stage.
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