Winning in Business Realize your potential. By Boris Revsin.

Meetings I: Sell yourself and the money will come.

More and more I find myself holding or attending upwards of 5 meetings per day. I know the general outlook on meetings is that its “a waste of time.”

I agree, if the meetings are internal bull-shit fests, where everyone just wants to impress everyone else. Nothing get’s done.

The meetings I want to talk about here, though, are the ones that are outside your office. The meetings with your prospective clients, partners, contractors etc. I’ve been in enough meetings at this point that I’ve noticed several important trends. Most importantly, I feel that many people (even seasons biz vets) do not accurately modify their posture, speaking and presentations depending on who and why they are at the meeting. They go there with an objective like, ” Sell him for $3,000″ instead of a message like, “Explain, with examples and references, why spending $3,000 WITH YOU will make $10,000 FOR HIM.”

Basic right? Wrong.

A strong, deliberate message should NEVER come across as a sales pitch. A sales pitch is just that: a sell. A simple transaction of cash or credit for services rendered. But those who think that customers buy/react based on product or price alone are delusional. Guys: they are buying YOU.

I spend 95% of my time with the client selling myself (Not talking ABOUT myself unless they ask. That’s not how you sell.). The other 5%, sure, I spend explaining what it is I’m there for. “Selling myself” - I know it sounds vague, but here is a list of 5 Tips to sell yourself to your clients:

5 Tips to Sell Yourself

1) Look good. Pick a solid style and keep with it. If you wore a tie last time, wear it again (unless the meeting is informal). People like to see consistent images and it will make it easier for them to associate you with your brand. If it’s a meeting in the early morning, make sure your fully awake. Get into “110%” mode by focusing yourself to the task at hand. Take 5 minutes an hour before your meeting to collect your thoughts and identify…

2) Your message. People have TINY attention spans, especially at the higher levels of business. They are multi-threading like crazy. Even me, now. I have 11 browser tabs open right now, including 3 conversations on Skype with co-workers, Facebook, Twitter, GMail, Google Analytics, and a sales deck for one of my biggest restaurant clients (Buffalo Wild Wings!). It’s not that I’m not giving this my full attention, I just need to have the ability to switch gears on the spot. Keep that in mind; Be concise.

3) Have your personal story nailed down. This goes right back to my Press 101 post. What are your accomplishments? Let people know who you are and why you are qualified to be giving them advice. Write a quick bio about yourself - it’ll help. All our bios at CampusLIVE are here.

4) References, references, references. I consistently sprinkle my conversation with potential clients with anecdotes and experiences of past clients and friends. People want to know they aren’t the only ones picking YOU over everyone else. Make them feel better about their choice by showing them other smart businesspeople have made the same decision. Do it subtly, though. You aren’t bragging, you’re sourcing.

5) Know the game. If your business is advertising, then have a VAST supply of knowledge about media, pricing and emerging trends. Too often I find myself explaining the basic CPM model to supposed “advertising” or “marketing” specialists. Show that you are not only the product you are selling, but also an amazing soundboard for any questions that they might have. Anything you need to know about almost everything is on Google (or Bing, ha). Take your time to do solid research, and come to the meeting as prepared as you can be. Practice on a co-worker. Ask them to trip you up as best they can.

Do any of you folks have some good tips for meetings? Let me know in the comments.