A lot of people struggle to get real meetings with potential clients.

By “real” I don't mean the “let's grab a coffee to talk about how we can help each other” or “lets do a 1-1” meetings beloved of networking organisations. The ones where both parties are hoping the other one will buy from them or refer them but that usually end up with nothing.

I mean meetings with potential clients where there's a strong chance they could become a paying client at some time in the future.

If you want more meetings with potential clients you need a good answer to the tough question: “why on earth would someone want to meet with you?”

“To find out how I could help them” isn't a good answer. Nor is “to understand more about them and their needs”.

Neither of those adds any value to the potential client.

Sure, you'll get some meetings that way. Some with tire-kickers. Some with people who already have a strong relationship with another supplier who just want to check the market. And a few genuine potential clients too.

But not nearly enough to build a thriving business.

Instead, craft something you could discuss with potential clients that would be useful, insightful and new for them. 

A review of the top trends for this year in their industry or your area of expertise.  

Benchmarking you've done on what their leading competitors are doing.

Case studies of businesses who've made the kind of major improvements they're looking to make.

Notice a common thread?

Apart from the fact that these are all incredibly valuable to a potential client, they also require you to do some work.

You can't just arrange a meeting and wing it with your super-smart questioning skills and off-the-cuff expertise.

You have to study current trends. Do the benchmarking. Prepare the case studies.

But if you put in that work, you'll get far more potential clients saying yes to meetings with you. And those meetings will do far more to build your relationship and establish your authority than meetings to “find out what they're looking for”.

If you put in the work you'll get the meetings you deserve.

And if you don't…well, you'll get the meetings you deserve.