Do’s
So we will start off with the things that are absolutely critical, redundant, but well worth repeating. Dress professionally, speak confidently, be overly prepared, take great notes, shake hands firmly, make eye contact, etc.
Now on to the not so obvious, often overlooked issues, and I am sure the one thing that is in your mind now is how to work around the student issue. I have written about that issue here, but just to sum it up: don’t mention that you are a student unless directly asked. The general consensus is that clients don’t really need to focus on the fact that you are a student, and shouldn’t really be concerned if you are or aren’t. What makes you any different at what you do because you are a student, compared to someone with your exact same skills who isn’t a student?
Clients, however, do become concerned with the flakiness of a student and their work. This is something you should address in your meeting if asked about your schedule/ability to complete any work. Hopefully you have been able to collect a couple of references or testimonials from your other clients, so you can give those to your client right away for them to follow up (or not, they may trust you once you produce this). No matter what always show your confidence, be professional, and never over promise and under deliver.
Do focus significantly on you and what you can bring to the table. However, as I just said, don’t oversell yourself and bite off more than you can chew. When discussing skills with your client, be open and honest, but don’t oversell. Show your passion for what you do, get excited over what you do, and love what you do. This positive vibe will be soaked up by your client and will put them in a better mood.
Do always try to make sure you end the meeting on a great note. This can vary depending on the reason for your meeting, but end in a way that will make you memorable and make the client leave in a better mood then when you met. Come up with something you can say or do that will surprise your client in a good way, and stay memorable. One freelancer I know will always offer to buy their client a cup of coffee when the meeting ends, and then joke about how that was their “reward” for meeting them. This approach doesn’t work for every type of client, but it works great for them!
Don’ts
There are a few key things that you shouldn’t do during a client meeting, some of which students may not realize if they have never been on a professional business meeting before.
Don’t focus on your pricing, better yet, don’t even mention it. You should be selling yourself based on you and your skills, not because of your price. It goes back to the issue of not competing based on price alone. Make your client want and desire your services, and work to make the client want to stop looking for another designer. This won’t happen if you blow it up front by giving your pricing (or even any figure).
If the client starts to ask about pricing, explain simply that you would love to discuss it more in a bit, but you would like to discuss (insert issue here) first. Delaying the price question works sometimes, but those clients in which are persistent about price are shopping only based on price, and will work to try to get a lot for a little. In a sense, it is really about working backwards from the traditional price situation where you are asked about price, then have to defend it. Defend why you charge what you do before even stating a dollar amount.
Don’t put down any other freelancer or company, no matter how badly you feel about them or how badly your client speaks of them. Not speaking badly about any freelancer, company, etc and always being positive leads to even more positive feelings from your client. The truth is you aren’t sure if the client has been looking for another freelancer, if they will start, or if they are ending their search with you. You also don’t know who else they have talked to as well. So it is always best to stay positive when speaking about competitors or other companies. It not only shows that you are professional, but it keeps the conversation upbeat and won’t hurt any feelings unintentionally.
Don’t act like every other salesperson. Find some way to be unique in your offering. Start the meeting off different than others, end it differently, or find something that makes you memorable. If you come into the meeting like every other salesperson does (i.e. aiming to say very little and get the client to say yes as soon as possible), your client will quickly be turned off and feel as though they are not special.
The best advice, be the best you can be.
Anyone (including myself) can spit out advice to you left and right, but the most important thing is just be you. If you are a comedian at heart, then it’s ok to incorporate some of that into your meeting. If you walk into your meeting trying to be someone you aren’t, the client will be able to smell it and will not hire you. Also, even if they do hire you, it will be very hard for you to keep that up throughout the project, leading to client disappointment. However, aim to be the best version of you for the client. Your client will appreciate it, and best of all, it won’t be hard to maintain throughout the relationship with your client.
The best of luck to you with your next client meeting!