If your startup is about to get its first big break, you better start preparing as soon as possible. You may be a young business but you cannot rely on others having an understanding of your lack of experience. You need to prepare in every possible way to present yourself in such a manner that other entrepreneurs would want to collaborate with you regardless of the fact that you are a novice in the business arena. With that in mind, here are a few tips you should consider for a concise and fruitful meeting.
Research into attendees
The first thing you have to take into consideration are the attendees, that is, your prospective clients, partners or suppliers, depending on who you are meeting with. Novices in the startup business are sometimes anxious about meeting those who are more experienced than them but while respect is desirable, fear is not because instead of negotiation conditions which will suit you, you might agree to less favorable ones.
This is why this step is essential – by preparing in advance, you will be more confident at the meeting which means that you will not hesitate to ask or do whatever is necessary. This includes having an overall idea about their financial state, as well as checking their LinkedIn, website, as well as social media profiles of individual attendees for good measure. And don’t forget to tend to your LinkedIn and your startup’s since your interlocutors might have a similar strategy.
Double-check meeting essentials
A company with a well-know reputation can afford an oversight or two but unfortunately, a startup doesn’t have that luxury. For instance, imagine how unprofessional it would seem if you forgot to check the equipment to make sure that you can display your presentation on a large screen – you would be able to show it on a laptop, of course, but chances are that only those that are closest to the laptop screen would be able to see anything.
If you planned on handing out any brochures, flyers or documents, you need to come up with the content or check the existing one on time. Also, to avoid unpleasant situations and realizing minutes before the meeting that you are paperless and unprepared, it’s best you contact experienced printing services and let them take care of everything. In this manner, since you will be nervous as it is, the only obligation you will have is to pass them out among meeting attendees when the time comes.
Practice your pitch
Apart from extroverts, most people feel uncomfortable having to speak in front of a group of people. As uncomfortable as it might be, without pitching your idea the right way, it would be nothing but words on a piece of paper, just as your startup would be without you. This is why you need to pluck up the courage and show the other party why you consider your idea to be significant for them.
To ensure you don’t freeze or forget an important detail, it’s best to practice the pitch and luckily there are many strategies to do that. You can practice in front of people who are unbiased or video yourself so you can see if some changes in the content or your posture might be necessary. It would also be useful to time yourself, just to get an impression if the pitch needs to be shortened and as for the general attitude, you might be more relaxed and confident on the day of the meeting if you first tried pitching in different silly voices.
Come up with questions
No matter the nature of the future relationship with the meeting attendees, you need to have a set of questions prepared for them and you can be certain that they will have their own set, as well as a few spontaneous ones, especially after the pitch. The questions serve primarily for you to get a better understanding about their stance on what is being negotiated, as well as deadlines, budget, and other important aspects.
However, those questions also need to be skillfully shaped to also show them your interest and that you did some research into them. Intelligently concocted questions are also a sign that you and your startup may not be that experienced but that you have quality ideas, lots of enthusiasm, and knowledge, as well as dedication to becoming successful. The message that is protruding between the lines of your questions needs to be that of respect for their company but also one of self-praise.
Conclusion
In a modern business world, the competition is harsh and startups are sprouting daily and only those most persistent, organized and hard-working make it. This is why you need to give it your best from the get-go, especially when you suspect that a meeting can turn out to be a game-changer for your startup.
By thoroughly preparing for a big meeting, you will show that you respect the other party’s work by carefully designing questions and respecting their time. The materials and your pitch need to be impeccable which means that their content and pitch’s execution should be taken care of in advance. If you do the necessary preparations, you will feel more confident and ready to get the most from that meeting.
