Five Ways to Annoy a B2B Prospect in a First-Time Meeting - Guaranteed!

Mistake 1: Arriving Late (and Trying to Brush It off with a Lame Excuse)

After 300 interviews with corporate decision-makers I assure you they are perplexed as to why so many salespeople are late for appointments. Not only that, but they tend to blame their tardiness on traffic... something which should be anticipated.

Here's where it makes sense to follow "Lombardi time." (Courtesy of the famous football coach who made his players arrive 15 minutes early to practice). This doesn't mean you announce yourself in their lobby 15 minutes early. That's just as bad as being late. Instead, arrive at the call with time to compose yourself and enter the lobby three minutes early. Game time... are you ready?

The bottom line: many executives refuse to do business with people who are late as it conveys a lack of respect and suggests there might be other deficiencies also.

Mistake 2: Getting Too Personal Too Soon

Yes there are sales trainers who suggest you ask personal questions to develop rapport. But according to our research, decision-makers would prefer you get right down to business at a first-time meeting. (With the exception of 20 seconds of small talk concerning the weather.)

Would you want somebody you just met to get too personal when you don't know if you'll ever see them again? Be pleasant and keep focused on the business at hand. You'll have a good chance at earning their respect... and who knows? They might even like you.

Mistake 3: Show and Tell

I'll never forget my first sales call. The purchasing manager looked at me and said "So what do you got?" With that I was off to the races. I showed him brochures, samples, handed over my price list and blabbed on about how great we were. Five minutes later he said "Thanks for coming in, but we're pretty happy with our current supplier." And that was that.

If you haven't prepared questions that qualify potential fit then you're wasting time!

The bottom line? The prospect should be talking 65 to 80% of the time during the meeting.

Mistake 4: Acting like a Salesperson

Naturally you appreciate their time. But this doesn't mean you need to thank them for it more than once. You need the prospect to perceive you as an expert. So be confident and ensure you have the required knowledge to play an equal role in the buy/sell equation.

Mistake 5: Not Conducting Research before the Call

When our company opened a second office a number of years ago, I met with a telecommunications rep who asked me "So what do you guys do around here?" I had met him a week before and given him my card with my website address. But he never took the time to read the "About Us" section. Shame on him!

I lost respect for him immediately and decided to call his competition. They made an easy sale.

Bonus tip: Send an Advance Meeting Agenda

Our research has confirmed that decision-makers appreciate an agenda ahead of a meeting. In many cases I will demonstrate my preparation by including an agenda items such as:

I read about your company's XYZ policy and wondered if that had an effect on sales?

By demonstrating you've done your homework ahead of time, you increase the likelihood of earning respect and trust. Not a bad foundation for a win-win relationship.

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