First Date Jitters
I had a meeting this week with a potential client. As I was preparing for this little get together it struck me that initial client meetings are the work equivalent of going on a blind date. Here you are getting together with someone who you probably have never met – at least not live – and just like a blind date you try to anticipate what they will like, how formal they are and what questions they might ask. In our personal lives that might translate into worries like, “What should I wear?” or “What if the conversation lulls?” And while I admit these questions sound fairly personal the reality is that initial client meetings are fraught with the same challenges. I honestly do spend time trying to decide what to wear, wondering if my potential client’s culture is casual or more formal. Should I dress in jeans to communicate how creative and down to earth I am or wear something more business-like to show that they can trust my sound judgment.
Just like blind dates are often set-ups many of my initial client meetings fall into that category as well. Our company is blessed with many great partners and clients who like us enough to “set-us up with” or refer us to potential new clients. While this does take some of the stress out of the initial meet and greet it also adds a layer of stress because just like in your personal life you certainly don’t want to let your friend down! And let’s be honest how awkward is it if your friend really thinks they have made a great match only for you to realize it is not a good fit after all? Awkward!Truth be told I haven’t gone on a blind date in a long time – happily monogamous for 8+ years – love you honey! And if the real, real truth be told I am not actually sure I ever went on a true blind date. But I am told by reliable sources that these days thanks to the Internet and social media there is a lot of pre-investigation that you can do on your potential sweetheart. This is also true of potential clients. Time spent on their website learning their story or perusing their Facebook posts and tweets is great ground work to prepare for that first meeting and could help with those potential conversational lulls. It also gives you a sense of who they are, what they care about and their voice. But just like a blind date some of that can be misleading and can never substitute for that first in-person encounter. And we keep carrying this metaphor out does that make RFP’s the work equivalent of dating sites?Let’s face it… at the end of the day just like on a blind date, at a potential client meeting what we are all looking for and hoping for is chemistry. You know, that magical feeling that you get when something is just right. It’s a sense that this partnership is a ‘fit’ and that together you are going to do great things. When we are lucky the chemistry is mutual and the relationship commences. If not - if one party doesn’t feel the chemistry or perhaps finds better chemistry elsewhere - then you do just what you do in the real world. You remind yourself that there are lots of fish in the sea, you get back on your horse and you head to your next blind date hoping this time you will find the perfect fit.