client visit activities

How to Plan the Perfect Customer Visit [+ Agenda Template]

Published: August 02, 2021

Now that the world is opening back up, it’s time to get out there and meet your customers face-to-face. For many newer customers, this might be their first time getting to spend time with you — especially as conferences have moved online.

Creating that connection is invaluable. But before you book that plane ticket, it’s essential to create a plan. Planning the perfect customer visit will ensure that you meet your goals and that your customer meeting will be successful. Here’s a look at how you get there.

Why plan a customer visit?

Jason Lemkin, the founder of SaaStr and EchoSign, has said “ I never lost a customer I actually visited. ” That’s a bold statement — one that's worth taking note of. But why? What is it about customer visits that has such a big impact on customer loyalty?

First of all, you get to make a stronger impression with your customers. No matter what you sell, you aren’t just selling a product — you’re also selling the people behind it.

Your vision, your passion, your knowledge are all play into the perceived value of your product or service. All of these elements come across more strongly when you visit in person. A Zoom call just isn’t enough time to go deep.

Secondly, you get to see how your customers are using your product in person. Are they constantly printing out reports to pin up on a wall? Are you seeing teams walk across the sales floor to point out something on a screen? What kind of working environment and equipment do they have? What other types of software are they using?

Everything happening behind the scenes paints a much clearer picture of who your customers are. And when it comes time to renew or jump on that next customer success call, you’ll have a lot more knowledge ready to draw on.

Finally, meeting your customers in person is a huge motivational boost! When you’re behind a screen for so long, it can start to feel like what you do doesn’t matter — or that you’re not making any real connections. But a visit to a customer’s office can change all that, and really light up your idea of “why” you do this at all.

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5 Potential Goals of Your Customer Visit

Going into a customer visit with goals in mind will help you get the most out of your time there. Here are five goals to consider when planning a customer visit:

1. Understanding Their Business Goals

If you’re visiting a client, you’re likely hoping for a long term relationship. Understanding what their future goals are can help align your product with their needs. These in-depth conversations would rarely come up over a quick phone call.

2. Gathering Feedback

Customer visits provide a unique opportunity to gather honest and in-the-moment insight into what your customers need and want. When you sit next to someone who uses your product in their daily work, there’s a lot more space to have this feedback arise. And documenting it for future sales opportunities and your product team is one of the more productive actions you can take during a customer visit.

3. Referrals

In-person visits are a great time to ask for and give referrals. Ask, “Are there any other companies that you work with that you could see our product being helpful for?” Alternatively, if a pain point is mentioned by the client and you know the perfect company to help solve it, don’t be afraid to build that connection. It’s just another way you can bring value to your customers.

4. Uncovering Opportunities for Cross-Selling or Upselling

While your primary objective shouldn’t be pitching your offering at every opportunity, you might uncover a problem that your product or service can help solve. Noting these potential value-adds can make for more effective, thoughtfully targeted upsell and cross-sell conversations.

5. Testimonials and Case Studies

Customer visits can be a unique source of sales content, including pictures for case studies, video testimonials, and strong evidence-based customer stories. If you plan on making this one of your primary goals, consider asking your client to set the stage for these kinds of materials before you visit so you already know who you’ll be speaking to, before coming onsite.

How to Plan an Onsite Customer Meeting

By putting more effort in before you go, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving your goals and impressing your clients. Here are some key actions to consider when planning your customer meeting.

Thoroughly prepare before the visit.

Before you arrive, make sure you’re up to date on the state of the customer's account. Who are they usually talking to at your company? What customer service tickets have they raised lately? Are there outstanding issues that need to be addressed? These will come up during your visit.

Secondly, understand the current ecosystem your customer is working within. Is your customer in the news? What’s happening in their industry? What threats and opportunities are arising in their business? Being prepared and knowledgeable about their inner workings will make a better impression than coming in blind.

Decide who you’re meeting with.

Start by setting up a meeting with relevant company leadership. That could be the CEO, the founders, or the VP of the functional team you're working with — depending on the company's scale. Bear in mind, while this contact might be the "reason" for your visit, they're probably not who you'll be spending the most time with.

Once you have a meeting scheduled with the company's leadership, plan the rest of your day around meeting with the team leaders and employees using your product — as well as any teams that are open to signing up or expanding the current seat count or contract scope.

Make dinner reservations for you and your clients.

Traditionally, a customer visit includes taking your client out for a nice dinner as a token of appreciation. It also offers a chance for you to get to know each other outside of the limits of the work environment and form stronger relationships.

That being said, this is not a social visit. Keep your goals in mind — even outside of work hours. If you’re familiar with the restaurants in the area, choose a place that has options for every diet and has a good atmosphere for conversations. If you’re not familiar with the available options, ask the client where they’d recommend.

Complete the wrap-up report.

After the visit is over, you still have work to do. Create a wrap-up report for your internal teams back at the office. It should cover key elements of the visit like any confidentiality agreements put in place and who at your company you can share contact information or sales figures with.

Identify any action items that came up during the visit. Include any positive highlights during the meeting as well as any risks or opportunities that arose. Create a copy of the report for your client as well, to show that you were listening to their concerns and that you’re going to follow up with them.

Customer Visit Agenda Template

Use this sample agenda to plan your own customer visit.

10 am: Welcome/Office Tour (30 minutes, w/ Stacy, Raul)

• Get settled, set up a desk or boardroom for the day

11 am: Executive Meeting (1 hour, w/ Stacy, Thomas, Ankit, Shireen)

• Overview of status, product usage, any updates
• Add any bullet points you need to cover here
• Upcoming changes or challenges for the business
• New Opportunities
• Areas of concern

12pm: Lunch

1pm: User Meetings (4 hours, rotating through Marketing teams)

• Overview of new features
• Gather feedback from users
• Sit with teams to review workflow

5pm: Wrap Up meeting (30 minutes)

• Process or configuration change recommendations
• General questions and answers
• Items to be addressed as part of maintenance
• Enhancement opportunities

6:30pm: Dinner at Restaurant

Internal Notes

• At the bottom of your agenda, include internal notes that are meant to be shared with your team only.

Plan for success

It’s time to get back out there and meet your clients face-to-face. By planning your customer visit ahead of time, you’re sure to achieve your goals and come out with a stronger understanding of what your clients need.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Copyright 2024 Cvent Inc. All rights reserved.

How to Conduct the Perfect Customer Visit

By Natsha Ness

Customers are the lifeblood of any organization. Whether you have the ability to meet with them face-to-face, or are required to so over Zoom due to our ever-changing reality, customer visits require intentionality. They also provide a golden opportunity to make your customers the North Star they should be – and improve literally everything about your organization as a result. Why a Customer Visit is Worth Its Weight … in Actual Gold

How do we know a customer visit is critical to success? In 2019, we conducted research into sales and marketing alignment, in partnership with DRIFT . In it, we found a significant correlation between the most aligned sales and marketing teams (which were also the most revenue-generating teams) and their focus, not only around customers-centric metrics, but also regular visits with customers.

Planning Customer Visits is Key

Sometimes customer visits are inexpensive (like when they happen on Zoom ). Still, just because you’re  remote doesn’t mean the interaction has to feel inexpensive. In fact, you can still invest in the same sorts of things you did on-site. Think about buying lunch with an UberEats code. Or sending your customers a box with a bunch of goodies for the meeting. In other words, think about how you can make the “visit” an experience.

If someone falls into your target account list, and is likely to have a strong lifetime value in your business, they’re worth visiting. But you have to first make sure there’s mutual agreement around the desired outcome of such a meeting. In other words, why are you getting together?

There could be plenty of possibilities, but three main reasons almost always necessitate a customer visit:

• You’re close to creating a proposal. If you’re about to put together a proposal, a customer visit will help you achieve the tight alignment you need to make sure what you’re offering is a good fit with what the customer needs. This will likely come after multiple discovery calls and deep dives. You’ve figured out which challenge you want to solve, and have had conversations with various people that lead you to believe it’s time to create an official proposal.
• You recently created a proposal. (My recommendation is to make the customer visit happen before the creation of the proposal, but it’s better to go after than not at all).
• Upsell. An often underutilized function of customer visits are to the folks who already invested with you, but of course, this can be leveraged to further the relationship and ensure it stays. It can also be used to uncover additional insights into other products or services that may fit additional, previously undiscovered, challenges. You can also work to prevent customer churn by conducting a customer visit.

Who should be involved in a client visit?

After the “why” comes the “who.” Who needs to attend your customer visit to achieve your desired outcome? There could be a wide variety of internal stakeholders that you want to include. You might have people from business development, marketing, analytics, general managers or directors and/or someone from the C-Suite. There should only be people there who have direct input into and/or influence over the subject matter at hand; no one extra. Once you figure out who should be there, think about each of their differing priorities. If you’re unsure of someone’s priorities, ask them in advance. This will help you show up prepared.

Then consider who should be there from your side. Again, don’t bring anyone who doesn’t have a clear role. There’s no dedicated team that should go to customer visits; it varies based on the goal and the customer. You should know what the customer cares about before you head there. This helps you decide whether you need your CEO present or whether the principal on the account is sufficient.

Before the Visit 

One of the best tips I can give you is to get all the skeletons out of the closet before you get in front of someone. For example, if your customer’s marketing leader beams about his 600 pieces of content, but the business development group complains they are out of date and impossible to find, do you want the first time the marketing leader hears that to be real-time, while you’re onsite? Trust me; you don’t. The whole meeting could go downhill fast. You can work through potential issues by asking if there will be multiple budget stakeholders in the room. If so, as it relates to this project, find out whether they will be contributing some of their budget to the meeting’s desired outcome. If so, what does that look like? These questions can help you spot any areas of potential friction before you’re ever in the room.

Preparation is Prince

The content of your meeting is king, but preparing properly to share that content is certainly a strong runner up. Make sure each attendee has a very specific role, and then prepare the right presentation. Consider the following question to guide your preparation:

• Are you sharing a slideshow? Audio? Video?
• What assets will you use before the meeting, during the meeting and after the meeting?
• How will you leverage small, breakout rooms to facilitate conversations vs. all-together, large group dynamics?
• Do you need slides, overheads, pens, markers, etc.? If so, it’s a good idea to send these ahead!
• Do you need a backup plan? For instance, what if your computers don’t work; do you have a hard copy of your presentation?

Then, it’s time to rehearse. Spend time with your team actually going through the presentation before heading to the customer. Talk about who will cover which slides, and how the flow will go. Make sure you’re bringing value to the customer and the tone of the meeting will be what they’re expecting. Finally, send over a message summarizing the purpose of getting together. I like to call this the DOGMA – Details Outlining Goals & Meeting Agenda. I tell them this is what we agreed to, and offer them a chance to come back and add to it or edit what I’ve sent.

During the Client Visit

Here are a few tips for the meeting itself:

• Watch for signs of misalignment. This often looks like one person repeatedly whispering to another, or in Zoom world, obviously Slacking. If someone is smiling during your presentation and you’re being serious, they’re probably talking about something else with someone on their computer. Even if you notice this, don’t mention it in front of the whole group. Instead, note it for later.
• What you can explore directly and immediately are the subtle expressions that indicate someone doesn’t buy into what’s being presented. If these things happen, try to draw it out so it can be addressed in the room. Don’t be afraid to just say, “Sally, it looks like you might have something to share.” If there are corporate politics involved and you can’t draw out the issue, try to have a conversation privately in person or via  a private Zoom chat. But stay in tune with all parties as much as you can by reading body language, tone of voice and so on.

Note: This insinuates that when on Zoom everyone has their camera on. Everyone should have their camera on.

• Record the meeting. Some people get weird about recordings, but having your meeting recorded can go a long way in helping you clarify issues later or capture something that even the best notetaker might miss. If you think someone might not like the idea, have a colleague dial into the meeting and record the call. You can say something like, “Peter couldn’t be here in person, but he wanted to call in.” It’s an easy, subtle way to get a recording to happen without making anyone feel uncomfortable. Enlist a dedicated note taker, but ask all attendees to take notes.
• Leverage a “Parking Lot.” If someone brings up an idea or thought that isn’t perfectly relevant to where you are in the agenda, jot it down in a “Parking Lot” that you can revisit at the end of the meeting – or afterward.
• Don’t leave the room without recapping what went on, with details and next steps. “This was our desired outcome and here are the five things we discussed. Numbers one through four have been hashed out, but we need to spend more time on number five so let’s set up a call ASAP to flesh that out more.” Make sure to spell out who owns what, and the agreed upon timeline so you set the expectation for accountability.

After the Visit

You had your meeting.  Now what? This is where you make or break the trust and credibility you worked so hard to create. I suggest sending a quick email to all involved parties, again reiterating what was discussed and the next steps. But take it a step further and get a handwritten thank-you note in the mail that same day. The content should be different – make it personal and send it out fast, and you’ll blow your customer’s socks off. Really.

After you’ve sent the customer a summary, create a customer visit report for your internal teams. A customer visit report should include:

• Action items
• Positive highlights
• Risks and opportunities
• Any other key observations and notes

Customer visit reports can also be given to clients, or sent in lieu of the email suggested above. After you’ve written up the most important information, it’s time to start taking action.

Take the lead by holding up your end of the bargain. Take care of any items for which you’re responsible, and set up any follow-up meetings that were discussed immediately. The power of a customer visit can quickly be deflated by distraction – and a lack of action – when it’s over.

How We Can Help Your Client Visit Planning

So, which customers or prospects deserve your time and attention onsite? Make a list, and get to scheduling. It’s the step you’ve been missing toward better alignment and better results too. Need support with any of these tactics? Shift Paradigm is a full-service partner for any organization that wants to stay agile in the current digital landscape. Our customer engagement services provide the complete package to keep your customers invested in your products and organization. Interested? Contact Shift Paradigm today!

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How to Plan the Perfect Customer Visit [+ Docket Template]

Publish: August 02, 2021

Now that the world is opening behind up, it’s time to get out there and meet your customers face-to-face. For many newer consumers, these might will their first time getting to spend time through you — especially as conferences have moved online.

Creating that joining is invaluable. But before you book that plane ticket, it’s essential to create an schedule. Planning of perfecting customer visit will ensure that you meet thine goals and that your customer meeting will be successful. Here’s a take at how you geting where. Employee Visit Plan - Preset - Vesta EVV

Why plan a customer visit?

Jason Lemkin, the founder of SaaStr and EchoSign, has said “ I almost lost a customer I actually visited. ” That’s a bold statement — one that's worth taking note of. But why? What is it about customer visits that can such a big impact upon customer loyalty?

First of any, yourself get to make a stronger impression with your customers. No matter about you sale, you aren’t just selling a product — you’re other selling the people go it.

Your vision, my passion, your knowledge are all play into the perceived value of our product or service. All of these elements come across more strongly when you visit in person. AMPERE Zoom call just isn’t plenty time at go deep. Planning the perfecting customer visit will ensure that she meet my goals and is your customer meeting will be triumphant. Here’s one look at how you get there.

Next, you get to check how your customers represent using your outcome in person. Are they constantly printing out reports up pin up on a bulwark? Is you seeing teams walk across the sell floor to point out something on a screen? What kind of working surround and equipment how people do? What extra gender of add-on are people after?

Everything happening behind the scenes paints a much clearer picture of any your customers are. And when it comes time to renew or jump on that next customer success call, you’ll can a lot get knowledge finishing to draw on.

Finally, meeting owner clientele in person is a immense motivational turbo! When you’re behind a screen for so long, to can launching to feel like what you do doesn’t matter — or that you’re don making any real connections. But a visit to a customer’s your can change all that, and really light up your featured of “why” you do this at all.

5 Potentially Goals of Your Customer Visit

Going into a customer visit with goals includes mind will help you got the most out of your time there. Here are five objects to consider when planning a custom visit:

1. Understanding Their Business Goals

If you’re visit a client, you’re likely hopping for one long term relative. Understanding what their future goals are can help align your product for you needs. That in-depth conversations want rarely come up over a quick phone call. customer visits.pdf

2. Gathering Feedback

Customer visits provide a unique opportunity to gather honest and in-the-moment insight into what your client needed and want. Wenn you sit next to someone who types your product in their daily work, there’s a land more space on have this feedbacks arise. And documenting computer for future sales opportunities and thine product team is one of an more productive promotions you able take during a your visit.

3. Referral

In-person tours are a great time to ask for and enter referrals. Question, “Are there any other business that you my with that you could see our product being helpful for?” Alternatively, if adenine pain point is mentioned by the client and you know the perfect company to help solve it, don’t be afraid to build that termination. It’s just additional way you can bring value to your customers.

4. Uncovering Company for Cross-Selling or Upselling

While your primary target shouldn’t be pitching your offering at every opportune, you might unmask adenine trouble that your product button service can helped decipher. Noting these potential value-adds can make for more effective, thoughtfully targeted upsell and cross-sell conversations.

5. Testimonials and Case Studies

Customer visits can be ampere unique source of sales index, including pictures for situation studies, video testimonials, and strong evidence-based customer stories. If you plan on production those one the your primary goals, consider asking your client to set the stage in these kinds on materials before you visit so you already knowledge who you’ll be word to, before coming onsite.

How to Plan to Onsite Customer Meeting

For putting read attempt in before you hinfahren, you’ll have ampere much better chance of achieving your our and impressing get clients. Here am some key actions to consider when planning get customer meeting. Customer Visit Scheme Presentation | Sequent Learning

Thoroughly prepare front one visit.

Before you arrive, make sure you’re up to date on the state is the customer's view. Who what they usually talking up the your group? Thing customer service tickets may they raised lately? Are there outstanding issues ensure necessity to be addressed? These will come up during your visit.

Secondly, understand the current ecosystem your customer is how within. Is your customer in the news? What’s happening in theirs industry? What threats and opportunities are arising in their business-related? Being prepared and knowledgeable regarding their in working will make a better impression than arrival in blind. Purpose: To develop a win/win user visit strategy that will encompass hint points beyond Total! ▫ Procedure: Walk durch varieties of visits, look among.

Decide who you’re meeting with.

Start by setting up a meeting with relevant company business. That could be the CEO, one founders, or which VP of the functional team you're working with — depending on the company's scale. Bear in mind, while such contact may be the "reason" for our visit, they're probably not who you'll may spending aforementioned most time with.

Once you have a meeting scheduled with the company's leadership, plan the rest of get day about meeting with of teams top and employees using your product — as well as any teams that are get to signing up or expanding that current seat count or contract scope.

Make dinner reservations to you and your clients.

Classic, a your visit incorporate taking thine client out for an beautiful getting as one token of appreciation. I also offers ampere chance for thou to get to know each diverse outside of the limits for of labor environment and form stronger verbindungen. Customer Travel Plan - PDF Templates | Jotform

That beings said, this shall not adenine social visit. Keep your goals in heed — even outsides of work hours. If you’re everyday with who restaurants in the area, choose a site that has options for every diet and has a good atmosphere for conversations. If you’re not familiar with the available options, ask the client where they’d recommend. 16 Conferences Daily Example & Free Templates

Completes the wrap-up report.

After the visit be over, you stills have work to accomplish. Creation a wrap-up report used your domestic teams back at the branch. It should top key elements of the visit like whatsoever confidentiality agreements put includes place and who under the company you can share make information or sales pictures with. As to Plan the Perfect Patron Visit [+ Agenda Template]

Identify any action element that came up during the visited. Include any positive highlights during and meeting than well-being as any risks or opportunities that arose. Produce ampere duplicate of the report for get client as well, the prove that you were listening to their concerns and such you’re passing to continue up with them.

Patron Vist Agenda Template

Utilize such random agenda to plant yours own customer visit.

10 my: Welcome/Office Tour (30 minutes, w/ Stasi, Raul)

• Get settled, set up a desk or boardroom for the day

11 i: Executive Meeting (1 hour, w/ Merge, Thomas, Ankit, Shireen)

• Quick of status, product usage, any updates
• Add any bullet points you need to cover here
• Upcoming revisions oder problems for the business
• New Opportunities
• Areas away concern

12pm: Lunch

1pm: Consumer Meetings (4 daily, twisting driven Marketing teams)

• Overview of new features
• Add any ball points you need to cover here
• Collecting feedback from users
• Sit with teams to review workflow

5pm: Winding Up meeting (30 minutes)

• Process conversely configuration change recommendations
• General questions and answers
• Line to be addressed as parts of maintenance
• Expansion opportunities

6:30pm: Evening at Restaurant

Internal Remarks

• At the bottom of your agenda, include internal tips that what meant to be sharing with your team only.

Plan fork success

It’s time to get support out there and meet your client face-to-face. By planning autochthonous customer visit moving are time, you’re sure to achieve your goals and come out with a stronger understanding of how your clients need.

Don't forget to share this post!

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How to handle visitors without appointment: customer visit plan for IT companies

A customer visit plan helps prepare for intensive meetings. For unexpected visits to your office from clients, read on how to handle visitors without an appointment.

As a story, I remember: “I have been working with the law company for 20 years. No one has been out to see my shop”. They have been a business partner for two decades; however, the law firm has not visited its business client once. It proves that nothing can compare to personal interaction between companies and their clients.

With scheduled client meetings, companies will know what to do during the client visit. So regardless of unexpected client visits, what should firms do? Read about how to handle visitors without an appointment in a software development company. 

Client visits build long-lasting business relationships. Firms learn more about clients: business opportunities, legal needs, understanding protocols, and feedback from existing projects. Moreover, companies will have a chance to meet other people and foster relationships. 

Why do firms need to make a customer visit plan?

Customer visit plan: fostering business relationships .

How do firm client visits are critical to their success? A survey into sales and marketing alignment stated that there was a significant correlation between sales and marketing and their concentration. It not only focuses on customer-centric metrics but also on regular client visits. Client visits provide valuable insights and information about a business opportunity and its operations. As a software development company, it is critical to think that client visits create and help build long-term relationships with clients. 

A customer visit plan is a key 

Some customer visits are inexpensive since it happens on zoom or any online meeting platform. Firms have online discussions with clients, which does not mean the interaction is inexpensive. Companies still invest in the same sorts of things as in-person meetings with clients. Sales teams and competitors are trying to solicit clients for business deals. Thus, clients will appreciate talking or discussing with someone who is not trying to sell or upsell. However, firms must organize intensive meetings with clients rather than invest in hearing their problems. 

• Client visits make our customers feel appreciated and cared for. 
• The client visit creates a bond through imitating meetings. When visiting the office, clients can see how our development teams integrate software into the workflow. Besides, firms will study the client’s behavior and show them how you will support them. 
• Client visits help detect solutions or problems not be discussed through telephone and emails. 
• Company workers feel more motivated since they get honest and personal feedback on your software development products or services. 

How to handle visitors in the office: create a detailed customer visit plan 

There is a story of an important client visiting the company headquarters who had been working. As usual, the client meets a receptionist at the office, tending to be easier for that company. The company occupies two floors: staff on the second floor and the reception on the third floor. When the client arrives on the second floor and no one is there to welcome them. Needless to say, that client was not happy. Therefore, preparing an intensive customer visit plan is critical for most firms during the client visit. So a software development company, what should they do to handle visitors in the office? 

How to handle visitors without appointments: Tips & Helps 

Regardless of unexpected clients, here are some tips for ensuring to welcome clients when they visit your office.

• Training employees
• Remind receptionists and sales
• Personalized greetings
• Create welcoming working environment

Training employees even for unexpected occurrences in entrepreneurship

Employees should perceive that all visitors are personal customers. It means all have to make eye contact, smile, say hello, and ask any unattended questions. It will make a difference between having an unwilling experience and a potential customer. 

Remind receptionists and sales to be attentive 

The receptionists in the office can be the most important ones since they greet customers at the beginning. If the receptionist is busy with phone calls, they can make friendly eye contact and hand gestures. Besides, a salesman will be another person who communicates and interacts with the clients during their business trip. 

Personalized greetings: customer visit plan

Is there a lobby board that says “Welcome, Mr. Veon from Adamo Software” for example? This is a single gesture that puts together and shows your clients that you care about them. It builds long-term business relationships and opens more opportunities and references. For instance, a software development company like Adamo prepares welcome posts on social media and banners on TV screens to greet clients. 

Create a clean and welcoming working environment 

Companies maintain a clean workspace, particularly near the entrance and meeting rooms. Is there any paint chipping? Creating a clean environment ensures your working space shines which will reflect professionalism. 

What is the ideal way of greeting a visitor: make the most of client visits 

Set up meeting

Here are some considerations that firms should do during their client visits: 

• Showcases the visit as a service protocol: Advise the client to set the time for meeting regularly. 
• If clients want to go somewhere, combine the visit into another trip. Tying the meeting into another trip makes it more efficient for firms and alleviates concerns regarding time and expense. Most customers welcome effort from clients to visit. 
• When making client visit agenda, firms should consider activities outside of the working time: 
• Including social time with clients: lunch, dinner, or coffee talks. 
• Introducing other representatives whom clients have not met or who might be involved in the projects in the company. 
• Participating in a tour: food tours, sightseeing tours, etc. 
• Define who will attend the meeting with clients: The company can introduce other team members who have worked on the project. 

Conducting a meeting: How firms make the most of the time with clients 

• Firms should be involved 80% of the time with clients. Besides, it is essential to ask open-ended questions. 
• Try to understand the business and legal needs of clients. 
• Should advance the relationship with clients. Is there anything that firms can do to help? 
• Ask for a copy of materials: business plans, policies, and handbooks. 

Follow-up activities after the client visit 

• Thank the clients for their visit: Send a customized thank-you note. Firms can put a sign of gratitude, for example, some firm swag. 
• Produce a report: Share information, feedback you have received or staff who will work with you. 
• Follow-up with any future project: In many cases, there are assignments that are out of the meeting. It includes updated information, introductions, a training program, a review of a document, and preparing a proposal for work. 

How to get clients for IT company: Open more future business opportunities 

Some valuable tips to open more business opportunities:

• Provide value and education
• Draft unique business persona
• Go anywhere your clients are

Provide value and education 

A report shows that offering potential clients something valuable and educational instead of selling something will be engaged with clients. It is a great way to begin a rapport which will ultimately result in new business opportunities. 

Draft a unique business persona

Branding is much more than how products and services differ from other competitors. Building a business reputation through developing quality content and interacting on social media help firms attract new prospects and relationships. 

Go anywhere your clients are 

When customers do not get your firm, you will reach them. If your branding strategies do not work, start asking around if anyone is interested in your business. 

Clients have various choices today. If you are trying to get the attention of new clients, which makes you feel like selling sand in a desert. For example, a software development company showcases software application products to clients on social media: videos, images, and demos. 

Organize virtual events 

An effective way of acquiring new customers in the covid-19 pandemic is to hold a virtual event. You should invite current customers and potential clients. Current customers play as a live testimonial to your firm. Organizing a virtual event gives the chance to learn more about branding on a personalized level. 

The Bottom Line 

Planning a client visit to your office is a must for all businesses: scope and industry. With a business-to-business model like a software development company, we perceive that client visit is critical for a company since it helps build long-lasting business relationships with clients. Moreover, it also helps open more business opportunities with current clients and past clients. Make sure your firm will find a feasible way of welcoming guests even if they are scheduled clients or unexpected guests to your office. 

Tags: client visit, client visit preparation, customer visit plan, dedicated software development company, how to get clients for it company, how to handle visitors in the office, how to handle visitors without appointment, Software development company, unexpected occurrences in entrepreneurship, what is the ideal way of greeting a visitor

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The Art of the Customer Visit: How to Plan One + Why You Should

When was the last time you visited a customer? Customer visits might seem extravagant and unnecessary on the surface.

Why not just get on a phone call or Zoom meeting? Or follow up with them via email? You could just send them a survey, or even dig into your product analytics to surface insights.

That said, if I’m talking to another entrepreneur and say something like, "It's super crucial you physically visit your customers", they all look at me as if I just said the most obvious thing in the universe.

And we’re not excluding ourselves here: We launched Close in January of 2013, but our first customer visit was more than a year later!

Some businesses put off visiting customers because it takes time, and it’s easy to push down on your long to-do list. Or, it may seem more urgent to focus on getting new customers to sign on, rather than visiting existing customers.

If this sounds like you, let’s discuss the benefits of visiting your customers, and how you can set up successful customer visits.

What Are the Benefits of Visiting Your Customers in Person?

It’s true: COVID has permanently altered the way B2B sales works. Studies by McKinsey show that companies have reduced their in-person efforts as a go-to-market strategy by more than 50 percent since the pandemic started.

That said, a decent number of B2B buyers still prefer in-person contact during the customer journey.

And this is exactly where the opportunity lies—fewer companies are vying for your customer’s attention in person. This opens the playing field for your company to perform more customer visits.

And trust me—it’s worth the effort. Here's a quick rundown of the value we got from our first customer visits.

Motivate Your Team to Serve Customers Better

Seeing real people use your product is incredibly inspiring. It energizes you. It recharges your batteries. It gives you a visceral sense of how your work actually impacts the life of your users, rather than just an intellectual understanding. It's like pouring gasoline on the fire that fuels your engine.

Everybody on your team—from the CEO to the intern—should visit a customer, for this reason alone.

It is different from hearing customers tell you how much they love your product or how great they think it is. You just have to experience customer satisfaction happening in real-time. You need to see real human beings depending on what you built. You need to witness how your product helps them to operate better, to be better at what they are doing.

The impact you make on other people's lives is a much stronger driver than any number on a spreadsheet can ever be. Do not underestimate how much this affects you. It's powerful.

Build Better Customer Relationships

Meeting someone in person adds another dimension to your relationship with your customer. You can do a lot of relationship-building via email, chat, phone, and Zoom, but nothing has the same effect as meeting someone in person. It creates a human bond between the two of you.

Jason Lemkin of SaaStr says he never lost a customer whom he had personally visited while he was CEO of EchoSign. Spending time with your customers transforms a transactional relationship into a partnership. It builds empathy on both sides, which ultimately leads to better business.

In-person customer visits are one of the best ways to build customer intimacy . It deepens the commitment on both sides. If one of the people we met needs help one day, we'll be more eager to support them. And I'm pretty sure they'll be more forgiving if there's ever an issue with Close and be more loyal to our product.

Get In-depth Product Feedback on the Customer Experience

Your customers are more than the sum of all their clicks on your product. Yes, you might be monitoring product usage and reading all the feedback people send you via email or even tell you on the phone, but you're missing a lot of crucial context if you can't see your customers using your product within their work environment.

• How exactly are they using your product?
• What's happening around them?
• What else is on their screen?
• What's competing for their attention?
• What's their workspace like?

When you visit your customers, you get to see the environment in which they use your software. You experience your product embedded into a user's workday and get a sense of the entire puzzle, rather than just a single piece of it.

And it's little things, like...

• What kind of headsets /chairs/desks are they using?
• What other software/apps are they using during their day?
• Which little hacks did they come up with to make them more productive and efficient?
• What makes them smile, and what makes them frown when interacting with your web or mobile app ?

It just gives you a better picture of what's working and what's not.

Here’s a real example: during one customer visit, we saw that the customer was using a TV to display our reporting in Close . But at the time, our reporting page wasn’t optimized for full-screen display—it looked crappy.

I remembered that one of our engineers had worked on a quick fix that would make this look better, but we had never released it. I sent a message to the team, and within an hour, this feature was released by our VP of Engineering, Phil Freo . It looked fantastic, and our customers loved it.

While visiting customers, you can gather more in-depth feedback about how they’re using your product and where they would like to see improvements in the customer experience. Product managers can then use this information to build out improvements.

Find Opportunities to Upsell

Years ago, during one customer visit, we found the customer was on a basic plan that didn’t include a specific feature. Instead, they were using a third-party provider to get this feature for their sales team.

Talking with the founder, we faced some resistance to upgrading their plan. But we gained an internal champion during that customer visit by chatting with the sales team manager. We gave him everything he needed to make the transition happen, and they soon upgraded their plan to start using this feature again.

This is the power of in-person visits—not only did the extra revenue help us, but by upgrading their plan, the customer’s success with our product was significantly increased.

Create New Case Studies and Customer Stories

Using case studies and real-life examples of how your customers use your product is an excellent digital marketing strategy and one that will help build trust in your brand.

When planning customer visits, think about the customers you may want to interview for video testimonials or case studies on your website. Having these real customer stories also helps build better marketing alignment with your ideal customers and their needs.

All of these are examples of the kinds of benefits you can get from visiting your customers. You can't predict which benefits precisely you'll get—but you will always get value from a customer visit!

Get Your Copy of Talk to Your Customers →

How to Plan a Client Visit That Boosts Customer Loyalty in 7 Steps

By now, you should be sufficiently motivated to actually visit your customers. But what do you say and do? How do you get the most value out of these visits? How do you prepare for them? How do you wrap them up? How do you get started when you visit their office?

1. Identify Which Customers to Visit

Whether you have 10 customers or 10,000, it’s probably not feasible to visit everyone. So, which customers should you visit?

To start, make a list of the customers who already have a good rapport with you—your partners, advocates, and overall best customers.

Next, include customers who are using your product or purchasing from you on a regular basis. Learning about how they use your products and services, or why they keep coming back to you, will be great for your team.

Finally, make sure to include the customers who consistently give you critical feedback. These customers are already pushing your team to do better, and they will likely have super valuable insights to share with you when you visit in person.

2. Decide Who You’re Meeting With

Once you know which companies you’ll visit, decide which individuals inside the company you’ll need to meet with.

First of all, you set up a meeting with the founders or CEO. That's the person you'll be officially meeting. But it's not necessarily the person you'll spend most of the time with.

For SaaS companies, focus on the person managing the team that's using your product, as well as the end-users. If you’re a service-based business, talk to the people who are mainly affected by using your services.

3. Spend Time Getting to Know the Business Beforehand

Just like when prospecting, spend time doing research before the meeting—whether that’s on social media sites like LinkedIn, on the company’s website, or in B2B databases like Crunchbase.

When you walk into that client visit, you should know exactly who you’re talking to, what kind of business they are, which customers they serve, and how your product or service fits into that workflow.

4. Prepare and Share an Agenda

Having a clear agenda for your customer visit is essential to get the most out of the time you spend with your customers.

Start by setting out the agenda for your main meetings with the C-suite and with the managers of the teams that use your product. Set up talking points: such as updates to your product pricing, or upcoming feature launches in your product. Also, leave room in the agenda for their team to add any questions or comments. Leave a clear space for them to give you feedback.

Once your customer visit agenda is prepared, share it with their team. Let them have editing access so they can include their ideas. Make sure that expectations between you and your customer are aligned before you start asking them a lot of questions. Create a setting that encourages them to discuss and share their concerns openly.

Also, make sure to discuss confidentiality. If you plan to report back to your team after your customer visit, explicitly ask them if they're fine with you sharing their business processes, revenue numbers, etc, with your team. (If not, that's fine too—you can still share the learnings, without actual specifics, with your team.)

That way, both teams will be ready to get started when the day comes.

5. Learn About the Customer Experience in Real Time

So, the day of your customer visit has finally arrived! Start by talking in general, broad terms about their business and your business. Then, progress to more specific topics and product use cases.

Be both a student and a mentor. Learn as much as you can about your customers, and look for opportunities to help them. Learn about their workflows, and your product fits into those workflows.

Here are some questions you might ask during a client visit:

• How often do you use our product?
• Which team members use our product the most? How often do they use it?
• Are there secondary users that only use our product occasionally? If so, for what? How often?
• What are your business goals?
• How do you implement our product in your daily workflow?
• What bugs have you encountered?
• What features are you missing within our product?
• What do you like most about our product?
• What do you hate about our product? Which limitations do you find particularly frustrating?
• Which metrics does your team track within our product? (Or which KPIs does our product impact for your team?)
• If our product ceased to exist tomorrow, what alternatives would you consider to replace us?
• Are there any trends or changes in the industry that could affect the way you use our product in the future?

These questions and others like them will give you a clearer picture of how your customers use your product, and how it impacts their business.

6. Ask for and Give Referrals

Visiting customers is a great opportunity to get referrals . And to refer them to others as well. Don't just limit referrals to potential customers—any reason to put them in touch with other people is fair game, as long as you can see potential value for both parties.

Sometimes we see companies serving the same audience with complementary services—that's potential for a co-marketing initiative. If you introduce two happy customers to each other, and they collaborate together, and both get a ton of value out of it, you generate a lot of goodwill, and oftentimes very vocal brand advocates.

If you have a partner program set up, try to see if the customer you’re visiting would be a good candidate for that program, and help them understand how it works and the benefits they could get.

7. Create a Customer Visit Report for Your Team

If you do conduct a customer visit, make sure to document your learnings and take note of memorable moments. Then, you can share these insights with your team.

It's important that all the insights you gain during a customer visit actually become organizational knowledge—otherwise, your customer visits are basically useless.

So, set up a structured customer visit report that your team can peruse and learn from, both now and in the future. Inside this document, note specific items that will be of interest to the different teams in your company—for example, product feedback that your product managers may want to look at, customer journey insights that the marketing team should keep in mind, or product knowledge gaps that the customer success team may need to address.

To make sure everyone in the company benefits from customer visits, we try to share some pictures or highlights from our customer visits in Slack, and then during our weekly team meeting, a team member might give a quick 2-minute summary of their customer visit.

How Often Should You Plan Customer Visits?

There's no one-size-fits-all formula. It depends on your startup, but in general: you should meet them more often than you're meeting them now.

Jason Lemkin recommends every co-founder, CEO, and Customer Success Manager should meet on-site with five customers a month.

Being able to see the environment in which your customers use your product, the atmosphere at their workplace, and talking with the people who use your product daily is always an insightful experience.

Customer visits have been a crucial market research method for traditional businesses for many decades—but they're even more crucial for startups and SMBs . Your most powerful asset when you're in a market with established, large companies is your ability to understand your customers better and focus on their needs better than a large corporation can.

Michael Seibel, Managing Director at Y Combinator, said : "If you look around the startup ecosystem, you can find too many founders who believe that famous investors + lots of employees = winning. I bet most of our VC-backed competitors feel this way, and you can use this to defeat them (they aren't talking to customers nearly enough).”

Want more insights on talking to your customers? Get my book and learn more about building customer intimacy.

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Creative Client Event Ideas to Make Your Next Gathering Memorable

September 6, 2023

In the world of business, it's important to make a lasting impression on your clients. One way to do this is by hosting memorable client events that leave a lasting impact. These events provide an opportunity to showcase your creativity and professionalism, while also building stronger relationships with your clients. In this article, we will explore creative client event ideas that will make your next gathering truly memorable.

Understanding the Importance of Memorable Client Events

Memorable client events play a crucial role in the success of any business. They offer a unique opportunity to connect with your clients on a more personal level, allowing them to see your company in a different light. By creating events that leave a lasting impression, you can enhance brand loyalty, foster meaningful connections, and ultimately drive business growth.

Imagine hosting a client event that not only meets their expectations but exceeds them. Picture a gathering where every detail is meticulously planned, from the venue to the decorations, and even the smallest elements that add a touch of personalization. These events create an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, making your clients feel valued and appreciated.

When planning a memorable client event, it's essential to consider the role of creativity. While effective planning and organization are important, infusing your events with creative touches that reflect your brand's personality and vision takes them to the next level. Think about incorporating unique themes that align with your company's values and objectives. From elegant black-tie affairs to casual outdoor gatherings, the possibilities are endless.

The Role of Creativity in Event Planning

One of the key elements of a memorable event is creativity. While it's important to plan and organize events effectively, it's equally essential to infuse them with creative touches that reflect your brand's personality and vision. From unique themes to interactive experiences, creativity adds an extra layer of excitement and engagement to your client events.

Consider hosting a themed event that transports your clients to a different time or place. For example, if your company specializes in travel, you could create an event inspired by a specific destination. Decorate the venue with elements that evoke the culture and ambiance of that location, and offer cuisine and entertainment that represent the local flavors and traditions. This immersive experience will not only captivate your clients but also leave a lasting impression of your brand's expertise and attention to detail.

Another way to infuse creativity into your client events is by incorporating interactive experiences. Instead of simply having a speaker or presenter, consider hosting workshops or breakout sessions where clients can actively participate and learn. This hands-on approach not only fosters engagement but also allows your clients to gain valuable knowledge and insights that they can apply to their own businesses.

How Memorable Events Benefit Your Business

Memorable client events offer numerous benefits for your business. Firstly, they help strengthen your relationship with existing clients, making them more likely to continue doing business with you. By creating an unforgettable experience, you show your clients that you value their partnership and are committed to their success.

Additionally, these events provide an opportunity to showcase your expertise and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. By curating a program that includes informative presentations, panel discussions, or keynote speeches, you position your business as a trusted source of knowledge and innovation. This not only attracts new clients but also reinforces your credibility among existing ones.

Furthermore, hosting memorable events can generate positive word-of-mouth referrals. When your clients have an exceptional experience, they are more likely to share it with their network, spreading the word about your business and increasing brand awareness. This organic form of marketing can lead to new opportunities and potential partnerships.

In conclusion, memorable client events are a powerful tool for business growth. By infusing creativity into your event planning, you can create experiences that leave a lasting impression on your clients. These events not only strengthen relationships and enhance brand loyalty but also position your business as a leader in your industry. So, start brainstorming unique ideas and get ready to host an event that will be talked about for years to come.

The Art of Planning Unique Client Events

Planning a unique client event involves careful attention to detail and a thorough understanding of your client's preferences. To create an event that stands out, consider incorporating the following key elements:

When it comes to planning a client event, there are several key elements that can contribute to its success. Firstly, having a clear objective or purpose for the event is crucial. Whether it's to celebrate a milestone, launch a new product, or simply show appreciation to your clients, having a specific goal in mind will help guide your planning process and ensure that every aspect of the event is aligned with that objective.

Another important element of a successful client event is organization and execution. A well-organized event with a seamless flow of activities will keep attendees engaged and entertained throughout the entire duration. From the moment they arrive to the moment they leave, every detail should be carefully planned and executed to create a memorable experience for your clients.

Additionally, paying attention to the little details can make a big difference in how your event is perceived. Personalized invitations that reflect your client's preferences and interests can make them feel valued and appreciated right from the start. Thoughtful thank-you gifts at the end of the event can leave a lasting impression and show your clients that their presence and support are truly valued.

Balancing Fun and Professionalism

While it's important to create a fun and enjoyable atmosphere during client events, it's equally important to maintain a level of professionalism. Striking the right balance between fun and professionalism ensures that your event is both entertaining and conducive to meaningful business conversations.

One way to achieve this balance is by incorporating fun activities and entertainment options that align with your brand's values and image. For example, if your company is known for its innovative and creative approach, you could consider incorporating interactive workshops or live demonstrations that showcase your unique products or services. This not only adds an element of fun to the event but also allows your clients to experience firsthand what sets your brand apart from the competition.

Another way to maintain professionalism while still creating a fun atmosphere is by carefully selecting the venue and decor. Opting for a stylish and sophisticated venue that reflects your brand's image can help create a professional ambiance, while adding tasteful and on-brand decorations can inject a touch of personality and excitement into the event.

Ultimately, planning a unique client event requires a combination of creativity, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of your client's preferences. By incorporating key elements of success and finding the right balance between fun and professionalism, you can create an event that not only stands out but also leaves a lasting impression on your clients.

Unleashing Creativity in Your Event Themes

One way to make your client events truly memorable is by selecting unique and innovative themes. A well-chosen theme sets the tone for your event and creates a cohesive experience for attendees. Here are some innovative theme ideas to consider:

Innovative Theme Ideas for Your Next Event

1. "A Night Under the Stars" - Host an outdoor event with stargazing, live music, and celestial-themed decorations. Imagine your guests lying on comfortable lounge chairs, gazing up at the night sky, while soft music plays in the background. The atmosphere is magical and serene, transporting everyone to a different world.

2. "On the Red Carpet" - Transform your event venue into a glamorous Hollywood-inspired setting, complete with a red carpet entrance and paparazzi-style photo booth. As your guests walk down the red carpet, they feel like celebrities, with photographers capturing their every move. Inside, the venue is adorned with elegant decorations, reminiscent of a star-studded movie premiere.

3. "Around the World" - Take your guests on a virtual journey around the world, with different stations featuring food, music, and decor from various countries. Each station represents a different country, allowing guests to experience the diverse cultures and cuisines. From the vibrant colors of India to the tranquil beauty of Japan, this theme creates a truly immersive experience.

4. "Tech Innovation Showcase" - Highlight the latest technological advancements in your industry by creating an interactive exhibition space with live demos and hands-on experiences. Imagine a futuristic setting, with state-of-the-art gadgets and cutting-edge technology on display. Guests can interact with virtual reality simulations, test out innovative products, and engage in thought-provoking discussions with industry experts.

5. "Carnival Extravaganza" - Bring the fun of the fair to your event by setting up carnival games, rides, and delicious food stalls. The venue is transformed into a vibrant carnival, with colorful decorations, lively music, and the aroma of cotton candy filling the air. Guests can try their luck at various games and indulge in classic carnival treats, creating a nostalgic and joyful atmosphere.

Incorporating Brand Identity into Event Themes

While exploring creative event themes, it's important to incorporate your brand's identity and values. By aligning your event themes with your brand, you create a cohesive and immersive experience for attendees that helps reinforce your company's message and positioning. Consider incorporating your brand colors, logo, and key messaging throughout the event decor, signage, and promotional materials.

For example, if your brand is known for its eco-friendly practices, you can incorporate sustainable elements into your event themes. Use recycled materials for decorations, serve organic and locally sourced food, and provide reusable or biodegradable giveaways. This not only showcases your brand's commitment to sustainability but also creates a memorable and impactful event experience.

Furthermore, consider incorporating your brand's story into the event themes. Create interactive displays or installations that tell the story of your brand's journey, highlighting key milestones and achievements. This not only engages attendees but also strengthens their connection to your brand.

Remember, the goal is to create a unique and memorable experience for your guests. By selecting innovative event themes and incorporating your brand identity, you can unleash creativity and leave a lasting impression on attendees.

Making Your Event Interactive and Engaging

An interactive and engaging event keeps attendees entertained and involved throughout the gathering. Here are some activities to boost client engagement:

Activities that Boost Client Engagement

Interactive Workshops - Offer hands-on workshops related to your industry, where attendees can learn new skills or gain valuable insights.2. Gamified Networking - Create a networking game or scavenger hunt to encourage attendees to interact with each other and learn more about your company.3. Photo and Video Booths - Set up interactive photo and video booths where attendees can capture and share their event experiences on social media.4. Live Demonstrations - Arrange live demonstrations or product showcases that allow attendees to experience your offerings firsthand.The Power of Interactive Experiences

Interactive experiences not only captivate attendees but also leave a lasting impact. By providing opportunities for hands-on engagement, you make your event more memorable and create meaningful connections with your clients. Whether it's through virtual reality demos, interactive displays, or live performances, interactive experiences evoke positive emotions and strengthen the bond between your clients and your brand.

Utilizing Technology for a Memorable Event

Technology plays a vital role in creating memorable client events. From event management tools to social media promotion, here's how you can leverage technology:

Tech Tools to Enhance Your Event

Event Management Software - Use event management software to streamline registration, ticketing, and communication with attendees.2. Mobile Apps - Develop a custom mobile app for your event, allowing attendees to easily access event information, schedules, and networking opportunities.3. Live Streaming - Offer live streaming options for remote attendees who cannot physically attend the event, ensuring they can still participate and engage with your brand.4. Virtual Reality (VR) - Incorporate virtual reality experiences into your event to provide attendees with unique and immersive interactions.The Role of Social Media in Event Promotion

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your client events and building anticipation. Utilize platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to create event pages, share updates and teasers, and encourage attendees to spread the word. Additionally, consider incorporating event hashtags to encourage attendees to share their experiences and generate buzz around your event.

In conclusion, hosting memorable client events is a valuable strategy for any business looking to build stronger client relationships and elevate their brand. By infusing creativity, planning unique themes, incorporating interactive elements, and leveraging technology, you can create events that leave a lasting impact. Implement these creative client event ideas and make your next gathering truly memorable.

If you’re looking for more personalized event ideas, try out our free Event Idea Generator . With the help of AI, this generator suggests innovative ideas that are tailored to your specific event and audience.

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The importance of customer visits: Tools & tips

Table of contents, what are the benefits, who does it concern and why, what is a customer visit program, before the visit, during the visit, after the visit, final tips: how to simplify the customer visit.

Nowadays, with people being so connected, companies often or completely forget the importance of customer visits. A Digital tool can show you statistics, but can it actually read the true interests or intentions of a client?

The answer to that is most likely not. Usually, the more customers you gain or have to deal with, the more it is essential to keep a close relationship with them.

Wouldn’t you like to be considered more than a data or a click on an ad? I’m pretty sure you would.

Why are customer visits important?

Customers are constantly being solicited by your sales team or your competitor's. In fact, they will likely appreciate talking with a salesman who is not trying to sell goods, but instead someone who is invested in hearing about their problems and preferences. So, by meeting with them:

• It helps customers feel appreciated
• It creates a certain bond: Meeting clients in their environment shows you how they integrate your software in their workday. You’d be able to study their behavior and show them your support
• It detects needs or problems that would not have been obvious on the telephone or by e-mail
• Finally, company workers will feel more motivated as they will get honest and personal feedback of their product or service

You must keep in mind that you are not the only one soliciting that customer, it is a competitive market, so getting as much personal information as possible will keep you ahead of the game. And finally, seeing their smile and satisfaction in person can be the best reward ever.

You might want to bring your whole team such as the marketing and analytics members to the meeting but remember the goal here is not to sell but to listen and be understanding. Therefore, it should only concern the most profitable customers. And here is how to do it:

• Refer to your CRM tool and highlight, via the sales dashboard or cross tables, those who have ordered the most often or with the best average basket;
• Profile your customers. For instance, by using a progression metric, which assumes that the most interesting customers are those who have the best potential (good contact, several exchanges to date) but who have not yet made many purchases.

In a logic of cost reduction, a strategy to take into account is also the optimization of b2b sales funnel : you organize your customer visits by geographical area , and link them in order to lose as little time as possible between each appointment. 

This method can only boost your notoriety amongst customers and build customer loyalty. Because once it is done properly, it increases your efficiency to read and better understand the customer. And as it is generally said, time is money as well as of the essence.

Tips: Check out our lead generation in digital marketing and lead conversion to know how to best generate and convert lead into customer!

• The Best B2B Sales Lead Generation Strategies
• The 7 Fundamental Steps of a B2B Sales Cycle

A customer visit provides an opportunity for interaction between the parties involved to reach a settlement. Discussions may include pricing and terms, advertising, and 'team' approaches to visits. Strategizing is very essential and should not be omitted. It really gives you a true insight into a customer’s perspective.

Customer visits can be divided into four classes:

• It can be a Customer visit with the senior management team. Owners, presidents, general managers, and so on.
• A customer visit with the sales managers
• A customer visit with a team of two or more people.
• And finally, a customer visit with an individual. This could be a member of the sales management team or a sales person.

How to prepare for it?

Preparation is key as it helps with your confidence and organization.

• First step is to make an appointment with the person or people in charge.

Ask them when they will be available and set a time and date.

Make sure that each party is aware of what the meeting will be about beforehand.

Speak to them about confidentiality, that everything you report back to your team will be done with their consent.

• On your end, if you haven’t already, keep studying your customer.

See what has changed in the use of the product from now up until the day of the meeting. Study their company, visit their website to know more about their products, services, and their world. Build a client portfolio or a persona. 

It will help you personalize the interview with a guaranteed effect!

Make sure each attendee on your team knows their role.

Review and reread your files as well as the history of exchanges and purchases, if applicable, to have all the keys in hand.

Do not forget to have a backup plan. It shows your professionalism in case something goes wrong.

Pay attention to CAC customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value calculation to balance your fee.  

Once every concerned individual is informed about the meeting, this is where you get into the gist of things.

Start off with light conversations, then get to the purpose of the meeting.

Make them feel comfortable. You do not want to seem too keen to get down to business.

Keep in mind that this is a mutual agreement, so the customer or client won’t run away. Nevertheless, here are a few topics you can do and speak about:

• Be at the same time the student and the mentor. Pay attention to them as well as try to find the best solution to their problem.
• Get to know what their daily work life looks like. Ask open-ended questions. Allow the customer to take the lead and talk.
• If possible, focus on who uses your products or services more. And if so, how often and what are the main reasons?
• Once you have determined the necessity they have for said products and services, ask them what they would like to be changed. Are there any bugs?
• Above all, take notes, whether the information seems useful to you in the short, medium or long term, or not, perhaps this data will be useful later or will speak to one of your colleagues.
• Finally, don’t leave the room without summarizing what was said, as well as speaking of the next step you will take to ensure their needs are met.

Many benefits can come out of this.

Have a debrief . Review what happened. What did you learn? Were some of your questions answered? Did you reach your goals? What was the most helpful?

Then, follow up with the customer and your team . Send the customer a thank-you note, so they can know you appreciate the time spent together and the feedback they have given you.

It doesn’t need to stop there, as keeping a close relationship and giving your customer or client the best experience is not a day process but a constant and ongoing contact with them. Which is why your next steps should involve:

• making a new appointment,
• drawing up a diagnosis or a commercial proposal ,
• preparing for the negotiation based on the customer's specific requests,
• identifying trends in the marketplace . If a number of your customer visits reveal the same concern, this may be an area that you need to focus on.
• communicating important elements to the relevant teams (e.g. the after-sales team).

Customer relations, like all professions, are going digital.

This is all the more appropriate as salespeople are professionals who often work on the move.

It is therefore essential to equip them with a mobile sales management application.

There are interesting tools for note-taking and customer visit reports, as it allows you to create any business document, tailored to your image.

Your documents are unified and 100% dematerialized, for consistency and centralization that benefits the whole company, especially the sales representatives in the field, who no longer lose any of their work.

Depending on the different email scenarios configured, the managers receive a summary and the customer a recap by email. And if the visit is successful, you can even have the customer sign an order in the same breath!

The tool can also communicate with your CRM, a second essential tool which thanks to technology can directly be mobile, that is to say on your phones and tablets.

Using a flexible and customizable software, your sales representatives have all the necessary tools at their disposal on their smartphone or tablet: customer files updated in real time, connection to your ERP, generation of sales documents (quotations, order forms, invoices), and access to order history, stocks and your catalogue.

And you, have you tested any digital tools for your customer relations?

What did you think of them?

If you are still here, here is one last piece of advice: Always look to the future but do not forget that customer satisfaction is crucial to a company’s success.

Nothing beats a face to face meeting as hidden gems can be said. Take the time to know who you are catering to. Customers buy when they feel loyalty and consideration. Do not overlook great relationships that can lead to great opportunities.

Articles on the same topic

• Lead Conversion: Tips to Transform Potential Customers
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)- One of Marketing's Most Important Indicators

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7 Ideas for Entertaining Visiting Clients

Entertaining clients is about more than simply showing them a good time. It’s really a tool to showcase your personal and business brand. It’s a chance to build bonds with clients at a deeper level. When clients are happy after an event, they make a positive association between the event and your brand. This alone could make things much easier once you step up to the negotiation table. Here are some great entertainment ideas you could try for a client visit.

Have a Casino Night

If you know that your client loves gambling, you could always take them to a casino, but a lot of things can go wrong since you won’t have control over the environment. Instead, you could hold a casino night at your home if it’s appropriate or rent a property just for the event. You could have blackjack, roulette, and craps tables with actual dealers. You could also have a station where people can play online games. Pick a reliable site that provides a great gaming experience, however. Here, we would suggest that you check out a site like Twinspires. If you want more information about them and the things they have to offer, check out this Twinspires promo code review by Bonusfinder .

Go to a Sports Event

Another option would be to take your clients to a live sports event. You could try to get good seats, but it would be much better to splurge on a suite rental. You could introduce them to a sport they’re not used to or try to find out what sport(s) they like. One of the great things about sporting events is that you’ll both have the chance to genuinely enjoy yourselves and you see each other in a different light. 

Take them to a Horse Race

Horse races are very exciting and taking a client to a horse race could be very memorable for both of you. You can either choose to bet on the horses or not, but betting makes things that much more interesting. You’ll get to grab a bite or drink after the event too and speak about business if you want.

Golfing remains one of the best activities you can engage in with clients. Again, this is a great opportunity to see your client in a true light. You might notice that they get extremely frustrated when they miss a shot, for instance, or tend to cheat. These are all things that you could note for later. You also have to guard yourself and not show signs of frustration and anger so you can leave a good impression. Golf is a very social sport with a slow pace, so it will sometimes feel like a long meeting in the outdoors more than a game. Note that you could also spend the night at a nice driving range for something more relaxed and informal.

Rent a Yacht

Renting a yacht is a perfect idea if you want to impress clients and show them some of the beauty of your city. This is a great setting for a business dinner as well. You can find a yacht to rent for as little as $2000 and it will be more than worth it. Don’t forget to set money aside for a captain, waiting staff, and entertainment.

Go to a Charity Event

Taking your clients to a charity event for a cause you support is also a great idea. Make sure that you have money to give if there will be an auction too. It would help if you bid on things you can buy too. A gala is a good setting for bonding and charity events allow you to showcase your personality. You should also check if your client has causes that are close to their heart. If this is something you’re concerned with as well, then you could take them to an event for that cause. They will appreciate the gesture and feel more involved.

Get Physical

Physical events are one of the strongest bond-building tools that you can try. Pick a sport or activity you excel at and make sure that it’s not too demanding. Try to slow down the pace for the sake of your clients as well. You could go for a hike, for instance, or go road biking. If your client is known as an adrenaline junkie, you could try something like white water rafting or even rock climbing. You’ll be able to build memories for years to come and turn a client into a close personal friend.

As you can see, there are tons of things that you can do to keep your clients entertained on their next visit. Give all these ideas a close look and see which ones would fit your client’s profile and interests the best.

Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.

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How to Prepare for an In-Office Client Visit

Whether your first priority with your office is comfort, beauty, or functionality, it needs to work for your clients. Here are tips to impress guests.

Originally published by the American Society of Civil Engineers . Re-posted with permission.

Whether your first priority with your office is comfort, beauty, or functionality, it needs to work for your clients. A disorganized workplace can have a negative effect on your clients but also you and your business. If you want your office to be truly productive, there are pieces of furniture that play a role in welcoming clients and there are also other aspects that show that your office is professional and orderly. 

Receive clients quickly and professionally

The software guides your visitor through the sign-in process. Safety is all-important and the system also improves the security measures of your office as it offers live reports of everyone on-site. The system streamlines the entire check-in process and reduces waiting times. It eliminates the need to have a live receptionist who sometimes can’t make it to the office. Clients love the streamlined reception process that is indicative of a well-run business in all other areas. 

Ensure ergonomically designed furniture

With any business, a comfortable furniture is always a great option when thinking of clients. Whatever office you have, you should never compromise on quality and comfort. You don’t want your clients using it and then taking away their aching and stressed muscles and a headache. Ergonomics in your organization shows your company’s commitment to health and safety. 

You and your clients may require sitting a good part of the day and that means you face some health issues if your chair is ill-fitting. It is crucial to make sure that business furniture is designed to enhance your comfort. 

Incorporating ergonomics  will not only ensure your productivity but your comfort and well-being will be assured as well. Clients are such a valuable asset and you want to show your appreciation of them. It’s important to create a safe, hygienic environment for your clients that leads to better relationships and cooperation. 

Customer services just common decency

Even if employees don’t really have much to do with the client, they need to be helpful, friendly, and hospitable. This can make a huge difference between a client having a shoddy experience and a client feeling welcome and appreciated for what they bring to the business. 

Provide clear directions

How frustrating it is to be spinning and whirling around, hunting for some guidance as to where to go. If your clients use a public parking area, already from there, there ought to be signs guiding them on how to find you. Without guidance, it can cause so much confusion as to make a client late. 

Many might lose impatience and not bother to see you. You’ll get a message later explaining that they battled to find your premises. Proper signage is imperative, and if you can’t afford professional signage, then laminated A4 posters will do the trick.

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How To Use Customer Visits To Increase Engagement And Advocacy

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by Influitive | Oct 16, 2017 | Advocate Marketing 101 | 1 comment

eBook The Advocate Marketing Playbook The Advocate Marketing Playbook provides marketers with a blueprint from which to build and manage a successful advocate marketing program. It’s a… Download eBook

There are so many ways to identify and nurture advocates that sometimes you might miss the easy wins right under your nose.

When your customers are in town for a vacation, conference, or business meeting, why not invite them to visit your office?

Customer visits are a great way to deepen relationships with your advocates, as well as promote your advocate marketing program internally.

They can range in time commitment from simply taking a customer out for lunch to developing an agenda for a full-day visit.

Crafting the perfect customer visit

One way to maximize the benefit of the visit is to ask the customer to do a 30-minute session with your employees.

Think about it: not everybody in your organization gets to meet customers and learn about what they are doing with your product. Hearing it right from the customer can be invaluable, especially for product or marketing teams who aren’t in customer-facing roles.

Customers are usually eager and happy to give something in return for you providing some training, or setting up meetings with the product team, executives, and/or their CSM. Plus, having them do a presentation is a great way to see how well a customer presents with an eye towards upcoming User Groups or conference presentations.

We keep these meeting very short and informal to keep the pressure low, with about 20 minutes of presentation followed by Q&A. Slides are not necessary and we assure them that there’s no pressure to record or use their content for marketing. At Crimson Hexagon , we have found that the larger the license, the lower the likelihood that a company will approve public acts of advocacy. However, we do find that many customers are thrilled to share their stories publicly, and there have been many presentations that have led to published case studies.

How to get customers to sign up for a visit

The opportunity for customer visits is promoted formally in our customer newsletter, and plugged informally in conversations with Customer Success Managers. The customer may just happen to mention they are coming to Boston, and our advocate marketing team takes the weight off of the CSM by managing the details. Another way to make your advocates aware of this opportunity would be to simply make it a challenge in your Hub .

Once we’ve identified an interested customer, we do the following:

• Get on a call with the customer and their CSM to develop an agenda and lock down the details
• Have our advocate marketing team book the room, invite the right people to the meeting, and order lunch
• Plan ways to make the advocate feel special the day of, like updating the Welcome Screen in our lobby to greet them

If there is also going to be a presentation, we also:

• Determine who the best person is to introduce our guest
• Make sure an Executive says hello and is in the audience
• Send an invite to all employees (including remote), along with a day-of reminder

                              A recent customer presentation at the Crimson Hexagon HQ

Why customer visits benefit your advocates and your company

We have had great success with customer visits from Fortune 100 companies, agencies, government, and non-profits. A customer visit program is a great way to raise advocacy’s profile within your organization . It also creates an opportunity to talk about other advocacy opportunities with the customer, such as having them speaking at events , creating content , being involved in a case study , etc.

The benefits from the advocate’s perspective are that it makes them feel special, provides them with an audience for their thought leadership, and strengthens their bond with your company.

Recently, Michael Cornfield , a professor of political science at George Washington University visited our office and told us about his meeting with his CSMs.

What our advocate marketing team finds rewarding is that colleagues across all departments attendm and we get lots of positive comments from employees, especially from finance, HR, and engineering. Our goal is to host two to three of these customer visits per quarter.

If I had a wish, it would be that a few times a year we were able to invite and cover the costs of having a strategic customer come to Boston for a customer visit. It’s getting close to budget time, and I will definitely add it to my 2018 plan.

Related Resources

• Customer Success and Marketing Alignment ebook
• Why Marketing And Customer Success Are Your Brand’s New Super-Duo
• Together, Customer Success Teams And Customer Marketing Can Create A Better Customer Experience

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Ways To Entertain Clients: Guide & Ideas

Entertaining business clients has made (or broken) countless deals throughout the years. These interactions provide ample opportunity for the development of healthy client-merchant relations, and for potential clients to get a good idea of the caliber of people they’re looking at working with.

Unfortunately, missteps during these interactions (or worse yet, a botched attempt at entertaining a client) can set the wrong tone for the relationship, or turn off a client (potential or current) completely.

To help you avoid that problem, we put together this guide detailing some options available when considering how to entertain clients. We also threw in some fun ways to entertain clients to help give you some ideas.

The Cardinal Rule: Know Your Audience

There’s an old Latin proverb that says “de gustibus non est disputandum.” The phrase, roughly translated, means “there’s no accounting for taste,” and it’s a sentiment that’s been around for a very long time. Not everyone likes the same things and trying to force a person to enjoy something they don’t find preferable is akin to trying to force a square peg through a round hole.

When deciding how to entertain clients, you need to keep your client’s interests in mind. It may seem common sense to pick events, cuisine, or activities that they’ve expressed interest in or passion for, but it seems not everyone has received the memo.

Many businesses spoil their client-merchant relations by choosing activities that they themselves are interested in, rather than accounting for the client’s desires. This can be a catastrophic mistake, and demonstrating this level of oblivious or inconsiderate behavior can ruin business relationships.

Don’t pick activities that your client isn’t going to like. Pick things specifically that you know they will enjoy. This, of course, requires that you know what the client will enjoy, which requires some work on your part to discuss their interests. In other words, your conversations can’t be all about business, or all about you.

Similarly, don’t take your client to eat somewhere that doesn’t accommodate them  if they have special dietary considerations. Again, this requires asking a few questions and being considerate of needs they may have. This will go a long way to building positive relations if you do it right and will be ruinous if you do it wrong.

In all your preparations, keep the client in mind—it’s about them after all, not you.

Client Entertainment Ideas For the Athletically Inclined

Athletic events have been a mainstay of client entertainment. That’s because until perhaps very recently they’ve had the widest appeal. To this day, they’ve been a relatively safe bet, even in cases where businesses may not have been familiar with their client’s interests.

It’s not foolproof, though. Not everyone enjoys the same sports, and not everyone enjoys sports the same way. That’s why it’s important to fall back on the cardinal rule and ask a few questions before making any plans. Find out what sports they enjoy, and whether they like to spectate or participate, and then make your arrangements accordingly.

Now for some ideas. The old standby has always been local sporting events. Taking clients to “the big game” has almost become routine, but depending on your client it may still have a positive impact. Just be sure you’re attending the sporting event they would care for.

Not everyone is a spectator, though, and some would like to be more hands-on with their athletic interests. In this case, consider taking your client somewhere they can participate, such as a golf course, tennis or basketball court, or even a bowling alley. Just be sure it’s a sport that can facilitate a small number of people, as it may be one on one.

Some clients may enjoy some less traditional activities, so don’t be afraid to capitalize on interests such as indoor rock climbing or horseback riding.

Lastly, if you’re looking to give them some extra special treatment (and budget isn’t much of a concern), arrange for a private tour of a local stadium, team training grounds, or other notable sport-centric locales.

Client Entertainment Ideas For the Outdoorsman/Outdoorswoman

Similar to the athletically inclined, some people like to get out into nature. These individuals tend to be more participatory in their interests, so don’t be afraid to take them out to something they will be doing, rather than watching. Here are a few ideas:

Low-intensity hikes

• Fishing excursions

• Boating trips (whether on a yacht or a smaller charter boat)

• Wildlife sightseeing tour

• Trips to a gun range

• Skiing at a resort

Lastly, if they like seeing the sites but are more inclined to sit than to stand or walk, consider a helicopter or small engine plane sightseeing flight. These flights have the added benefit of feeling like special treatment since they tend to be private affairs.

Client Entertainment Ideas For the Cultured Client

Physical activity isn’t everyone’s preferred form of entertainment, and many clients may instead like to experience the culture of your city. For them, consider taking them to a performance they will remember. Shows put on by dance troupes, theater companies, or musicians (either an orchestra/symphony or a band, just be sure you know their music genre preference) are all good bets.

You can also attend a comedy performance, one put on either by a sketch comedy group, an improv group, or by a stand-up comedian. If they really enjoy a good laugh, they’ll likely appreciate it.

If performances aren’t their thing, try visiting a museum or art gallery. These are perfect for those who want cultural exposure without all the noise, and as an added bonus, visits  to these locales provide ample opportunity for the two of you to talk.

Lastly, if you’re looking for special treatment, try booking some of the following:

• Book a private viewing of a museum/gallery,

• A private tour of a filming or animation studio

• A private performance

• Or a private tour of a business that produces a unique product, such as hand-carved furniture, or hand made candies

Client Entertainment Ideas For the Client That Likes to Have a Little Fun

Sometimes, to paraphrase the song, clients just want to have fun. If they’re open to it, they may enjoy these more unusual activities, and will likely remember the experience for a long time as a result. Here are a few ideas:

• VR experiences

• Paintball

• Escape rooms

• Theme or thrill parks

• Pottery, painting, or other artistic classes

In these activities, a fun, jovial attitude is a must, and being able to laugh with your client will go a long way. If these are the kinds of things they’re into, then loosen up and just prepare yourself for a good time. The two of you will likely then be acting like old friends in short order.

Client Entertainment Ideas For the Foodie

The other old standby of business meetings, going to a restaurant isn’t as straightforward as it seems on the surface. There’s a lot of things to consider, and not everyone likes the same kinds of food. Depending on their tastes, they might enjoy a high-end, critically acclaimed restaurant, an eclectic and well-known local dive, or any location with a unique approach to food. Just be sure you do a little digging before you make the reservation.

Don’t Forget to Get Down to Business 

Entertaining clients, ideally, will be an experience you both remember positively. Eventually, though, you’ll need to get down to business and discuss what you both actually showed up for. When that time comes, you’ll need a meeting room that can facilitate that discussion. And that’s where we come in.

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Sales | How To

How to Plan & Run a Successful Client Meeting in 7 Steps

Published April 11, 2022

Published Apr 11, 2022

WRITTEN BY: Jess Pingrey

This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management .

Client meetings give you an opportunity to build or re-establish credibility and trust with leads, prospects, and current customers. Through understanding the meeting’s purpose, proper logistical planning, in-depth research, preparedness, and planning, you ensure your customer meeting is run effectively and successfully. In this article, we explore how to plan and run a client meeting with templates you can use during this process.

Client Meeting Template

Streamline your sales operations with premade, uniform templates to help guide your client meetings. As you fill out the information from the templates, store the document in your customer relationship management (CRM) system or another database. Below you will find the template we’ve constructed to help you create an agenda and take solid notes for all types of sales meetings.

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💡 Quick Tip:

Use customer relationship management (CRM) software to store client meeting notes and share them with team members. Freshsales is a free CRM that helps teams collaborate effectively and improve organization.

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1. Understand the Purpose of Each Client Meeting

The scope of a client meeting with a prospective client depends on their needs and where they are in the sales process . It impacts the content and flow of the meeting, the attendees, and how you will prepare for the appointment. Below are some of the most common types of meeting purposes to consider:

• Introduction meeting: In-person visit or call to make the initial connection with a lead or prospect. It involves going through the lead qualification process, determining their needs, and briefly discussing your business, product, or service.
• Consultation: An advisory discussion with a lead or current client to determine their circumstances, needs, and potential solutions for their unique situation. This is not a time to sell, but instead to provide adequate knowledge and advice based on what you learn from their perspective.
• Sales presentation: The sales pitch to a lead or customer that takes a deep dive into your business and its offerings. During this time, you present your unique selling proposition and address questions about your product or service.
• Product demo: A detailed presentation of your product, its features, how it works, and if it is well-suited for the prospect.
• Proposal discussion: A call or meeting with a prospective client to discuss quotes or a formal proposal containing pricing, scope of services, terms, and so on.
• Onboarding and pass-off meeting: A call or meeting with a new customer to go over the onboarding and delivery process of a product or service. It also involves introducing them to a new point of contact, such as a sales rep passing them off to an account manager.
• Customer check-in or renewal meeting: A meeting with a current client to check their needs and satisfaction on your solution. You can also address concerns related to your products or services renewal.

Sales management and other organizational leadership teams must develop procedures and tools for each type of meeting and make them available for their reps and account managers. Once the purpose is fully understood, the rest of these steps become intuitive.

2. Manage Meeting Logistics

Once a meeting is confirmed and all attendees understand the purpose, ensure you adequately handle the logistics. This includes agreeing on the right time, place, and communication channels, such as in-person, phone call, or video conference meeting . Furthermore, make sure anyone who should be involved is invited and aware of the meeting logistical requirements.

For instance, if you’re doing a product demonstration for your software, have one of the software engineers on the call to help the client better understand the features. Additionally, if you’re doing a proposal discussion and there are multiple decision-makers in your lead’s buying process, ensure they are all invited.

To manage the meeting well, ensure you provide detailed instructions for logging onto the phone or video conference call and that any web links for access work properly. If it’s in-person, write out navigation directions for the location and any security or parking information they need to know.

Lastly, ask the lead or customer to bring any items or information needed for the meeting. For example, with renewal-based insurance, many agents request a lead’s current policy information for their proposal discussion. This way, they can do a direct, apples-to-apples comparison with the current or updated policy.

Pro tip: Use scheduling automation tools like Calendly to streamline the process of agreeing on the meeting time and place. Calendly lets users configure their meeting parameters to meet their scheduling requirements. Meeting attendees get to receive a link for the scheduling portal and find a time and channel that works best. Once scheduled, the event is automatically synced to everyone’s calendars.

Calendly scheduling portal (Source: Wired.com )

3. Research Your Meeting Attendees

Depending on the type of client meeting, certain details should be obtained prior to the event. If you’re meeting someone for the first time, have some talking points ready to build a connection by researching information on the attendee’s experience or interests. For example, if you learn on LinkedIn that you have mutual friends or share the same alma mater with the lead, mention that in the meeting to build rapport.

For meetings directly discussing the product or service, such as a product demo , proposal call, or sales presentation, learn more about the lead’s current providers and how they feel about them. If they don’t like the current price or customer service, you can use those insights to express how you can bridge those gaps and provide a more desirable solution.

Any meetings with current clients should include a thorough review of their activity history, their customer experience, and any concern related to your firm. Be prepared to handle their complaints and understand where they are coming from based on their interactions with your product, service, or the entire business.

Some research sources you can use include LinkedIn, the lead or client’s website, or mutual connections. You can also track down information using the lead data organization and note-taking features of customer relationship management (CRM) software . Prior interactions and contact information can be stored in popular products such as HubSpot for your whole team to access.

HubSpot lead profile with activity and notes (Source: HubSpot )

4. Prepare Content & Questions

As you prepare for a customer meeting, develop preset questions to understand their needs, priorities, purchasing process, budget, and timeline. Additionally, make sure the content and materials for the meeting look professional, up to date, and ready for presentation.

For example, use a slide presentation for your product demos or a spreadsheet for price comparisons during your proposal discussions. You could also have a checklist document for reference during consultations or anytime you’re qualifying a lead. An example checklist can be found in our article on using the BANT method to qualify leads.

Last—and arguably the most important—is preparing the agenda for the meeting. This should include the sequential order of items to discuss within the allotted time slot. The agenda should also contain a goal that you should send to all participants prior to the meeting so they know what to expect.

5. Start Client Meetings With Introductions

During the first stage of your meeting, introduce yourself and the other members of your organization on the call. Also allow the lead or customer to introduce themselves, briefly talking about who they are, what they do, and why they were interested in the meeting.

Afterward, you can cite some of those talking points you created in step three. For example, if it’s a one-on-one meeting and you knew one of your lead’s friends, you could bring up that connection. Start the conversation with something that goes like “Hey, I think I saw that you are also friends with Griffin Buscavage.”

6. Stick to the Agenda

It’s essential to stick with the plan you set as it impacts the expectations of the prospects or clients attending the meeting. Furthermore, all attendees are managing their schedule around that agenda. So stay on track, focus on the meeting’s primary purpose, and respect everyone’s time by not running the meeting too long.

Part of keeping with an agenda is maintaining control of the conversation. Contrary to what many sales reps think, this doesn’t mean talking for 90% of the time. Any client meeting is a two-way conversation, with you understanding their problems and preferred fix while they discover what solutions your product or service provides.

If you run out of time and there are still remaining agenda items, find a courteous way to manage a plan to fulfill those items. For instance, if you can extend for five more minutes, ask the participants if they are available to stay. If they are not but you still need more time, agree on a follow-up call and send a calendar invite for your next meeting.

7. Create a Follow-up Plan

At the end of each meeting, include a follow-up plan for things that you, your sales rep, the lead, or the client must accomplish. Much of the post-meeting tasks depend on the purpose of the meeting and what was discussed. For example, after an introductory meeting, your next plan of action may be to send a follow-up email and a calendar invite for another meeting, such as a product demo.

During this stage, be clear on what exactly the next steps are. Perform any follow-up tasks in a timely manner to keep the lead or client in the buying or renewal mindset. If you delivered a sales presentation and the prospect wants price quotes, generate the proposal and send it within a day. This is to keep up with the information they learned and the retention of their purchasing mindset.

Pro tip: Don’t let follow-up tasks slip through the cracks. CRMs also act as task management tools where you can create and track tasks you need to complete within certain deadlines. Bitrix24 , for example, lets users manage independent tasks or ones directly associated with a lead or customer in the CRM system. Plus, the team view allows everyone to collaborate on activities that need to be completed.

Bitrix24 task and activity management (Source: YouTube )

Tips for Running an Effective Client Meeting

As you go through each of the steps of running an engaging client meeting, follow these tips to best connect with clients. These will help you become more organized, and ultimately reap better results out of your customer meetings:

• Respect their time: Show up on time, follow the agenda, and keep the length of the meeting reasonable by not exceeding the allocated time slot.
• Conduct detailed research: Any insights you can acquire before the meeting could be valuable. It also shows you take understanding and interacting with your clients on a personal level seriously. Keep the intelligence you gather on your CRM system for future reference and for others to access.
• Take diligent notes: Make sure you’re documenting everything you learn during the meetings for future use. Taking solid meeting notes also prevents you from forgetting important details a client may have mentioned during the discussion.
• Avoid inappropriate conversations: As expected in all business settings, don’t bring up unethical conversational topics or anything that would be uncomfortable for the attendees. Common things to avoid include politics, religion, and deep personal discussions.
• Focus on unique value to them: Understand your competition and how you stand out from them. Additionally, focus on robust factors within the context of how you can add value to the customer. For example, if you know the lead has a wide budget but is upset with their current provider due to poor service, you can focus on the excellent customer support you offer.
• Choose the right environment: Your relationship with the client or lead should dictate the meeting environment. If you have a client for 10 years, taking them to lunch instead of a check-in call might be a better idea since you already have a long-term, personal connection.
• Be candid: Many salespeople say that the relationships and the human side of the job are their favorite aspects of it. Keep a strong balance of professionalism and social connection during your meeting, and don’t be afraid to be yourself and make your clients laugh. In many cases, the lead or customer isn’t choosing the company, but the sales rep they have the best interactions with.

Bottom Line

Not properly handling a client meeting could be a deal-breaker for obtaining new business or retaining current customers. It’s essential to remain organized and professional throughout planning and running the client meeting. Using organized meeting agendas and taking diligent notes to reference during the other stages of the sales process help you remain systematic and close more deals.

About the Author

Find Jess On LinkedIn

Jess Pingrey

Jess Pingrey is a seasoned subject matter expert passionate about providing the best answers about sales and customer service. She has 13+ years experience in sales, customer relationship management platforms, marketing, and content creation. Her background includes launching the sales department of a successful B2B startup, training teams on using software effectively, and serving as a customer experience champion.

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36 lessons I learned from 2,000 client visits

• You are here:

Have I done 2,000 client visits?

Definitely, at least that many. All over the world.*

I did not count them, obviously, but one a week over my career, takes me well over that number.

So did I learn anything? I like to think so. Do these resonate with you?

• Just doing a visit is not enough. You have to craft a great meeting .
• A great meeting is not a ‘friendly chat’. It could be that as well, but it must be an exchange of meaningful information, that ends with a road-map for the future relationship laid out.
• The more (quality) visits you do, the more business you win.
• The visit is the start of the relationship getting real.
• The real goal of a prospect meeting, the one thing you must achieve, is ‘ credibility’ .
• You can learn a huge amount that will help you in the meeting, while you are in reception, prior.
• Meetings fail because of lack of structure, no planning, poor questioning skills, the consultant talking too much, and missing the real needs.
• A client in pain is a good thing. Meetings help you identify clients ‘in pain’.
• You can qualify a job order immeasurably better at a visit, and qualified job orders get filled.
• After you visit a client, your commitment to help them get the best staff increases. Or decreases. Either outcome is great, because you know your level of commitment.
• When you meet clients you make better matches.
• Doing your preparation and research makes all the difference to the quality of the visit outcome.
• Allow enough time to get there on time. Why make a stressful situation worse by annoying the client by pitching up late?
• Asking intelligent questions is the backbone of a successful meeting.
• Clients become candidates, especially after they have met you.
• Clients often lie.
• An effective client meeting will have the client talking 70% of the time, and you talking 30%.
• Client meetings are like a first date. The more you talk about them , the more they like you.
• Don’t give the client any collateral, brochures, salary surveys or anything other than your card, until the end. If you do, they will read that and stop listening to you.
• A prospect, who is cold, sceptical, brusque and disinterested on first meeting, can be friendly and chatting by the end of the meeting, and your lifelong client after 6 months. That is the power of a great client meeting. And some of the best fun this industry can offer.
• If the client keeps you waiting too long in reception, takes calls during your meeting, haggles your fee , and is generally disrespectful , this client will jerk you around for ever after.
• You start the meeting with non-threatening questions like ‘tell me about your company’, or ‘what is your market like’.
• However, by the end of the meeting you have addressed all the hard questions like “who do you use”, “how much do you spend on third party recruiters”, and “what do you like and dislike about agency service you get”. But you have to earn the right to ask these questions!
• You have to close. That means taking an order, or getting commitment to work their next order. And you have to ask for the business before you leave.
• If the prospect is seeing you, there is a reason. They did not agree to meet you because they had nothing else to do that day. An opportunity exists there. Even if the client says it doesn’t. It does. Maybe not right now. But it does.
• When the client starts to talk about fees and discounts, t hen you know you have not sold your service well enough. And you need to go back to talking about your value, not your price.
• No ‘pitch’ to a prospect is the same. You don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ presentation, that you wheel out on every occasion. You tell the client what they want and need to hear , and you know what they want and need to hear because you have asked the right questions and have unearthed their needs and their ‘hot buttons’.
• A demeanour of confidence, self-belief, and an attitude that says,  “ I am an expert in my field” overcomes just about everything. Without that self-belief you will never earn ‘ recruiter equity’.
• Selling exclusivity and retainers is immeasurably easier in a meeting than over the phone.
• Never say to a client “I know you are busy, I won’t keep you long”. You are busy too. Your time is valuable too. The meeting will take as long as it needs to take. Be respectful to the client at all times, but don’t belittle your own value.
• Always agree on ‘next steps’ before the meeting closes. That might be another meeting, a call back at a specific time, or an open brief on skills needed, that allows to be back in touch with specific candidate profiles.
• Ask for referrals. Who else in the group hires?
• Don’t put your phone, keys, or folder on the clients’ desk.
• Don’t take a phone call in the clients’ office (obvious, but some clowns do it). Don’t be on the phone when the client comes to greet you in reception. Don’t even have your phone visible during the meeting. And do not allow it to ring, beep, ping, or play ‘Highway to Hell’ either.
• If your client is more smartly dressed than you are, you screwed up. No, you are not cool, funky or anything else. You screwed up.
• The best fun in the recruitment business stems from meeting clients. That is when the adrenalin pumps. Most of the rest of this job is glorified administration. Or un-glorified administration for that matter.  It’s in the client meeting that the magic happens!

Have I missed any lessons from client meetings? Please leave your comments and ideas below.

* Client meetings, literally, all over the world. These countries for a start; Australia, New Zealand, England, USA, South Africa, South Korea, Japan , China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, France , Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Holland.

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The Savage Masterclass returns to the UK! London, Manchester and Glasgow.  #SavageSell. Book now

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• Posted by Greg Savage
• On July 15, 2014

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Five recruiter ‘must haves’ (Infographic)

Greg Savage Masterclass: Back in London: September 2014.

11 strategies for elevating the client experience

If you work at a law office, consulting firm, or anywhere that regularly hosts guests onsite for important meetings, then you know building strong client relationships is critical. Not only is this a good look for your brand, it’s a necessary step to secure business. After all, clients want to be sure the firm they choose will prioritize them—and giving them a VIP experience while they’re in the office is a great way to show them that you do. So, where do you start? In this post, we’ll share 11 different strategies for elevating the client experience so anyone who steps foot in your office feels like a VIP. We’ll show you how to ensure they have a smooth and welcoming arrival, and feel impressed throughout their visit.

Why does client experience matter?

While a great first impression can make them feel welcomed, impressed, and at ease, a poor first impression can do the exact opposite. Your client experience sets the tone for how guests perceive your office, employees, and organization. By taking intentional steps to improve the client experience, guests can focus on the purpose of their visit. Plus, a great client experience can influence your company’s referrals, retention rate, and overall reputation.

Intending to offer a great client experience isn’t the same as executing on a well-thought-out plan. Using the tips below, your team can establish a plan for making sure anyone who visits your office feels welcomed and important.

1. Prepare clients for their arrival

You might think that the key to making a great first impression with clients is having a beautiful lobby or grand meeting rooms. But really the first impression starts way before a client arrives onsite. Often overlooked, an invite to the office is the first and easiest way to make a great first impression. An impressive and effective invite isn’t only beautiful, it’s informational. To prepare clients for their visit, use your visitor management system to:

• Invite clients to pre-register for their visit: This enables them to provide their information and sign your NDA before they step foot in your office. It also gives them plenty of time to read and review any important documents before signing.
• Send directions, parking instructions, and pertinent arrival information: This ensures your clients don’t stress about finding a parking space near your office and allows them to have a seamless entry so they get to the purpose of their visit.

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2. Ensure an easy and sleek sign-in

Once a client arrives at the office, make it easy for them to sign in and receive an access badge for their visit. Remember to:

• Ditch pen and paper sign in: For clients who don’t pre-register for their visit in advance, signing in using a sleek iPad with your branding is the next best option. When an invited visitor types their name on the iPad, their sign-in details will automatically populate.
• Print branded visitor badges: Give each client a custom access badge to wear during their visit. As an added touch, you can print WiFi credentials on each one so they can easily access your company’s internet. This will make clients feel welcomed, while making it easy for employees to identify unfamiliar faces.

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3. Share your company’s WiFi

To have a productive visit, clients often need to connect to your company’s internet. Yet, sharing your one-and-only WiFi password means folks can stay connected even after their visit has ended. A better, more secure option is to issue each client unique WiFi credentials.

{{protip-3}}

4. Keep your lobby clutter free

A cluttered, disorganized lobby is a sure way to make a bad impression. For the same reason you’d clean your home before having guests over, it’s important to keep the entryway to your office tidy, too. Make a point to clean this area on a regular basis and be sure to store packages properly so they don’t pile up and become unsightly.

{{protip-4}}

5. Personalize your welcome

Have your team review the pre-registration list at the start of each day so they know who’s scheduled to come into the office and the reason for their visit. This way, your front desk staff can greet each client by name and be prepared to accommodate their specific needs.

“Address each visitor warmly and by name. This will help them feel welcomed, seen, and like the entire visit doesn’t have to be about business.” – Dave Park , Workplace manager at Envoy

6. Offer a beverage and snack

One quick way to make clients feel at home is to offer them a drink or snack. People are impressed by small gestures and will appreciate a white-glove service experience that makes them feel important and taken care of from the minute they walk in the door.

{{protip-5}}

7. Help clients with their coats or bags

Clients often arrive juggling items like coats, umbrellas, bags, or luggage. Offer to take these items off their hands or show them a safe place to put them during their visit. This safeguards their belongings, helps prevent potential hazards, and keeps your office free of clutter.

8. Don’t keep clients waiting

It’s never a good look to keep important clientele waiting. Let their hosts know as soon as they arrive so they don’t have to wait around unnecessarily. This will ensure guests don’t feel crunched for time or frustrated before their meeting even starts.

{{protip-6}}

9. Show them around the office

If a client arrives early for their appointment, give them a brief tour of the office. Taking the time to walk them through your office is a great way to show off your company’s facilities and make clients feel more comfortable during their visit. You can also share helpful information like the location of the bathrooms and areas in the office pertinent to their visit.For example, if your company is a consulting firm, you might make a point to walk your client down the hallway that highlights some of your major projects. You could even point out the ones that might pique their interest, based on what you know about their organization.

10. Keep conference rooms tidy and well-equipped

Tidy up your conference rooms and be sure they have the right equipment to enable a productive visit. Speak with the folks who invite clients to the office most often and find out what they need to have a seamless meeting. This might include video conferencing equipment, whiteboards, a monitor for presentations, or even a mini fridge to stock beverages and snacks. In some cases, it might also include soundproofing panels to ensure client confidentiality.

Find a workplace platform with conference room scheduling software to help hosts find the right meeting room for their needs and book it in advance.

11. Drive continuous improvement with client insights

After their visit, send your client an email thanking them for coming in. This is a nice way to conclude their visit and an opportunity to ask clients to complete a short survey about their experience. You’ll show them you care about their feedback while also collecting important insights into what folks think about your team’s hospitality.  You should also review your workplace analytics to understand which days of the week clients typically visit the office, who invites clients onsite most, and which clients visit most often. With this information, your team can proactively plan to accommodate clients and customize their experience.

A top-notch client experience is a leg up for any business—and you play a critical role in building one for your organization. Review the tips above and decide which ones make the most sense to implement. Then, it’s time to get to work. As you do, remember that this work is not only creating a great experience for every client walking through your doors, it’s making a marked impact on your business.

Pro tip: Use this guide to find the right visitor management system for your business.

Pro tip: Be sure to keep your office guest policy up to date. This will inform how your team manages your sign-in and security processes, and help ensure your clients have a great experience while they’re in the office.

Pro tip: Be sure your visitor management platform integrates with WiFi provisioning services like Cisco Meraki and Ubiquiti UniFi that enable you to automatically share login credentials with clients at sign-in.

Pro tip: Use your workplace platform to automate your mailroom and prevent package pileups. Employees will be notified automatically when their package arrives and can schedule a time to pick it up so it's not left lying around.

Pro tip: Try offering clients a custom pen or another takeaway to make a lasting brand impression.

Pro tip: A robust workplace platform will automatically notify the host upon their client’s arrival, saving your team time and reducing the amount of time guests have to wait.

Tiffany is a content crafter and writer at Envoy, where she helps workplace leaders build a workplace their people love. Outside of work, her passions include spending time with her greyhound, advocating for the Oxford comma, and enjoying really great tea.

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Boosting Client Relationships: 10 Engaging Activities for Success

Importance of client engagement.

Effective client engagement is paramount for the success of coaches, practitioners, and therapists. By actively involving clients in the process and fostering strong relationships, professionals can create a positive and impactful experience. This section will explore why client engagement matters and the benefits of establishing robust client relationships.

Why Client Engagement Matters

Client engagement is crucial because it lays the foundation for a collaborative and productive partnership. When clients feel engaged, they are more likely to be committed to the process, actively participate, and achieve their goals. By involving clients in decision-making and seeking their input, professionals can create a sense of ownership and investment in their journey.

Engaged clients are also more likely to have a positive perception of the service they receive. This can lead to increased satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. Clients who feel engaged are more likely to refer others to the professional, expanding their client base and enhancing their reputation.

Benefits of Strong Client Relationships

Establishing strong client relationships has numerous benefits. These relationships serve as a solid foundation for ongoing collaboration and trust. Professionals who prioritize client engagement can enjoy the following advantages:

• Better Understanding : Engaged clients are more likely to openly communicate their needs, preferences, and concerns. This information allows professionals to tailor their services and provide personalized support, ultimately leading to better outcomes.
• Enhanced Motivation : Engaging clients in their own wellness journey fosters motivation and accountability. When clients feel involved and invested, they are more likely to actively participate and stay committed to the process.
• Improved Outcomes : Strong client relationships have been linked to improved treatment outcomes. Engaged clients are more likely to adhere to recommendations, follow through with action plans, and achieve their desired goals.
• Increased Client Retention : Building strong relationships with clients can lead to long-term partnerships. Engaged clients are more likely to continue their engagement over time, leading to increased client retention and reduced attrition rates.
• Positive Referrals : Satisfied and engaged clients are more likely to refer others to the professional. Word-of-mouth recommendations are a powerful marketing tool that can contribute to the growth and success of the practice.

By prioritizing client engagement, professionals can cultivate a supportive and collaborative environment, leading to improved client satisfaction, better outcomes, and a thriving practice.

In the following sections, we will explore various client engagement activities, as well as the role of technology in enhancing client engagement. Stay tuned to discover effective strategies to foster meaningful connections with your clients.

Client Engagement Activities

Engaging with clients is crucial for building strong and lasting relationships. By implementing effective  client engagement activities , coaches, practitioners, and therapists can foster trust, enhance communication, and ultimately, achieve success. Here are three key activities to consider:

Regular Check-Ins

Regular check-ins provide an opportunity to connect with clients on a consistent basis. These check-ins can take various forms, such as phone calls, video conferences, or in-person meetings. The frequency of check-ins may vary depending on the client’s needs and preferences.

During these check-ins, it’s essential to actively listen to the client and provide a safe space for them to express their thoughts, concerns, and progress. This can help you to gauge their satisfaction, address any challenges they may be facing, and make adjustments to your approach if necessary. Regular check-ins demonstrate your commitment to their well-being and allow for ongoing collaboration. For more information on client engagement strategies, check out our article on  client engagement strategies .

Personalized Communication

Personalized communication is key to client engagement. Tailoring your messages and interactions to each individual client shows that you value their uniqueness and are invested in their journey. This can include addressing them by name, using their preferred communication channels, and acknowledging their specific goals and challenges.

Engage in meaningful conversations that go beyond the surface level. Ask open-ended questions to encourage clients to share their thoughts and feelings. Actively engage with their responses, providing insights, guidance, and support. By demonstrating a genuine interest in your clients’ well-being, you can strengthen the relationship and foster a sense of trust and authenticity.

Sending Newsletters or Updates

Newsletters or regular updates can be a valuable tool for client engagement. These communications can serve multiple purposes, including sharing relevant information, providing educational resources, and showcasing your expertise. Newsletters can be sent via email or through a client engagement platform .

When creating newsletters or updates, make sure the content is valuable and tailored to your clients’ needs and interests. Consider including tips, insights, success stories, and upcoming events or workshops. By consistently delivering high-quality content, you can establish yourself as a trusted resource and keep clients engaged in between sessions.

By incorporating regular check-ins, personalized communication, and newsletters or updates into your client engagement strategy, you can strengthen relationships, foster trust, and promote ongoing growth and success. Remember, effective client engagement is a continuous process that requires active listening, adaptability, and a genuine commitment to your clients’ well-being.

Utilizing Technology

In today’s digital age,  utilizing technology  can greatly enhance client engagement. There are various tools and methods available that can help practitioners, coaches, and therapists connect with their clients more effectively. Here are three key ways to leverage technology for client engagement:  client engagement software ,  client engagement apps , and  online surveys or feedback forms .

Client Engagement Software

Client engagement software is designed to streamline and enhance the client engagement process . It provides a centralized platform for managing client interactions, scheduling appointments, and organizing client data. This software often includes features like automated reminders, client progress tracking, and secure messaging capabilities. By utilizing client engagement software, practitioners can efficiently manage their client relationships and ensure consistent communication. For more insights on client engagement software, check out our article on  client engagement software .

Client Engagement Apps

Mobile apps can be a powerful tool for engaging with clients on the go. These apps allow practitioners to send notifications, share resources, and provide support in real-time. Some client engagement apps also offer features like in-app messaging, appointment scheduling, and progress tracking. By utilizing client engagement apps, practitioners can strengthen their connection with clients and provide valuable support whenever and wherever it’s needed.

Online Surveys or Feedback Forms

Feedback is an essential component of client engagement. Online surveys or feedback forms provide a convenient way for clients to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences. Practitioners can use these tools to gather valuable feedback, assess client satisfaction, and identify areas for improvement. By actively seeking client input, practitioners demonstrate their commitment to delivering a personalized and effective service. Implementing online surveys or feedback forms can foster open communication and strengthen the practitioner-client relationship. To learn more about gathering client feedback, visit our article on  client engagement activities .

By leveraging technology, practitioners, coaches, and therapists can enhance client engagement and provide a more personalized and efficient service. Whether through client engagement software, client engagement apps, or online surveys and feedback forms, technology offers valuable tools for connecting with clients and nurturing strong relationships. It’s important to choose the right technology solutions that align with the specific needs of your practice and the preferences of your clients.

Interactive Workshops or Webinars

Engaging your clients through interactive workshops or webinars is an effective way to foster meaningful connections and provide valuable insights. These activities allow for direct interaction, promoting active participation and knowledge sharing. Here are three engaging activities you can incorporate into your workshops or webinars to enhance client engagement.

Interactive Q&A Sessions

Interactive Q&A sessions provide a platform for clients to ask questions, seek clarification, and engage in insightful discussions. By addressing their queries, you demonstrate your expertise and commitment to their success. Encourage clients to submit questions in advance and allocate dedicated time during the session to answer them. This promotes engagement and ensures that clients feel heard and valued.

To make the most of interactive Q&A sessions, consider using online platforms that allow for real-time question submission and voting. This helps prioritize the most relevant questions and encourages active participation from all attendees. For more information on client engagement strategies, check out our article on  client engagement strategies .

Collaborative Activities or Exercises

Incorporating collaborative activities or exercises into your workshops or webinars encourages clients to work together towards a common goal. These activities can include brainstorming sessions, group discussions, or problem-solving exercises. By fostering collaboration, clients not only learn from your expertise but also benefit from the diverse perspectives and experiences of their peers.

To facilitate collaboration, utilize breakout rooms or online collaboration tools that allow clients to work together in smaller groups. This creates a more intimate and interactive environment, promoting engagement and teamwork. Remember to provide clear instructions and guidance to ensure that clients understand the purpose and objectives of the activities.

Virtual Networking Opportunities

Networking plays a crucial role in client engagement, as it allows clients to connect with like-minded individuals and expand their professional network. Incorporating virtual networking opportunities into your workshops or webinars can provide clients with valuable connections and foster a sense of community.

Consider organizing virtual networking sessions where clients can introduce themselves, share their experiences, and connect with others in a structured and facilitated environment. This can be done through breakout rooms or dedicated networking platforms. Encourage clients to exchange contact information and continue conversations beyond the workshop or webinar. By facilitating these connections, you enhance client engagement and create a supportive community of individuals with shared interests.

By incorporating interactive Q&A sessions, collaborative activities or exercises, and virtual networking opportunities into your workshops or webinars, you create engaging experiences that foster client engagement and facilitate meaningful interactions. These activities promote active participation, knowledge sharing, and the development of valuable connections. Remember to tailor the activities to the needs and preferences of your clients to ensure a truly engaging and impactful experience.

Social Media Engagement

In today’s digital age,  social media  plays a crucial role in client engagement. It offers a multitude of opportunities to connect with clients on various platforms and foster meaningful relationships. Here are three effective social media engagement strategies:

Creating Online Communities

One way to promote client engagement is by  creating online communities . These communities can be private groups on social media platforms where clients can connect with each other, share experiences, ask questions, and receive support. By fostering a sense of belonging and facilitating peer-to-peer interaction, online communities can enhance client engagement and create a supportive network. Consider creating a private Facebook group or a dedicated forum on your website where clients can connect and engage with one another.

Hosting Live Q&A Sessions

Hosting  live Q&A sessions  on social media platforms is an excellent way to engage with clients in real-time. These sessions can be conducted through live videos on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, allowing clients to ask questions, seek advice, and receive immediate responses. By addressing their concerns and providing valuable insights, you can showcase your expertise and build trust with your clients. Promote these sessions in advance to ensure maximum participation and engagement.

Encouraging User-Generated Content

Encouraging  user-generated content  is a powerful strategy for client engagement. Ask your clients to share their success stories, testimonials, or experiences related to your services or products on social media platforms. This not only allows clients to showcase their achievements but also serves as social proof for potential clients. Create a dedicated hashtag that clients can use when posting their content, making it easy to track and share their contributions. Acknowledge and appreciate their efforts by reposting their content or featuring it on your website. This not only encourages engagement but also strengthens the bond between you and your clients.

By leveraging the power of social media, you can create a thriving online community, host interactive sessions, and encourage clients to actively participate and share their experiences. Remember to utilize various platforms and engage with clients on their preferred channels. Social media can be a valuable tool in your  client engagement  arsenal, helping you build stronger relationships and foster client loyalty.

Showing Appreciation

Building strong client relationships goes beyond regular check-ins and personalized communication. It’s essential to show your clients that you value their partnership and appreciate their trust. Here are some effective ways to demonstrate your appreciation:

Sending Thank You Notes or Gifts

A simple yet powerful way to express your gratitude is by sending  thank you notes or gifts  to your clients. A heartfelt message or a small token of appreciation can go a long way in making your clients feel valued and acknowledged. Personalize your thank you notes to make them more meaningful and memorable. Consider including a handwritten message or a personalized gift that aligns with your clients’ interests or preferences.

Offering Exclusive Discounts or Rewards

Another way to show appreciation to your clients is by offering  exclusive discounts or rewards . This not only incentivizes their continued partnership but also makes them feel special. Consider providing discounts on future services or offering loyalty rewards that recognize their commitment to your business. By offering these exclusive benefits, you not only strengthen your client relationships but also encourage client retention.

Celebrating Milestones or Achievements

Acknowledge and celebrate your clients’  milestones or achievements  to foster a sense of community and shared success. Recognize their accomplishments by sending congratulatory messages or publicly acknowledging them on social media. By showcasing their achievements, you not only strengthen your client relationships but also create a positive and supportive atmosphere.

Consider creating a  client success board  on your website or social media platforms, where you can highlight clients’ achievements or share success stories. This not only showcases the value you bring to your clients but also inspires others to strive for similar accomplishments.

By incorporating these  client engagement activities  into your relationship-building efforts, you can foster a stronger connection with your clients and create a positive and supportive environment. Remember, showing appreciation is a way to express gratitude and reinforce the value you place on your clients’ partnership.

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How to Make the Most of Client Visits

A well-executed meeting on your client's home turf is a valuable activity for solidifying your relationship..

There is nothing like in-person client visits to help build client relationships. From setup to follow-up, strategies. Tips for creating a great meeting experience.

Table of contents

Setting up the meeting, opening your meeting during client visits, conducting the meeting, following up after the client visit, subscribe to attorney at work.

In one of the most memorable client interviews I ever conducted for a firm, a gentleman said to me, “I’ve been working with that law firm for 20 years and no one has ever been out here to see my shop.” There is nothing like in-person interaction to help you build your relationship and better understand the client.

A client visit has numerous potential benefits. It can be used to learn more about the client’s business and legal needs, understand protocols and processes better, explain or get feedback on the work that you have done, introduce or meet additional people and simply build a personal rapport . What you accomplish will depend on the client and your relationship.

Here are some thoughts on how to make the most of this critical activity.

There is some strategy that goes into the request to visit — for example:

• Don’t charge for it. It should go without saying that this is an off-the-clock exercise.
• Present the visit as a service protocol. Advise the client that you think it’s important to set aside some time to meet on a regular basis to talk about the relationship.
• If the client is out of town, tie the visit into another trip. This will make it more efficient for you and alleviate client concerns about your time and expense. Most clients will welcome your effort to visit. However, if you anticipate pushback, you can say, “I need to be in Nashville for something but it’s flexible so I’d like to schedule it around your availability.” You do need to be there — for the client!
• Having some social time together, such as lunch, drinks or dinner.
• Getting introduced to other company representatives whom you have not met or who might be involved in future projects.
• Taking a tour.
• Presenting a CLE or lunch-and-learn.
• Consider who should attend. Is the goal to introduce members of your team who have worked (or will be working) on the client’s matters? Or to talk about other service or geographic areas where you can be of assistance? Your objectives will drive who should be there from your firm.
• Be sensitive to clients’ situations. If they are crazy busy with fiscal year-end activities or an active lawsuit, for example, your visit will be perceived more as a disruption than a positive.

As you begin your client visit, here are some recommendations:

• Make introductions. If you brought colleagues, explain who is there and why they were asked to accompany you.
• Establish rapport. Start with some small talk to warm everyone up.
• Confirm the agenda. Reiterate the purpose of the visit and what you are hoping to accomplish. This should include establishing the time specifics — has the client’s availability changed since you set up the visit?
• Open the floor. Ask what the client would like to cover or accomplish, apart from your agenda items.

How do you make the most of your time together? Below are a few thoughts:

• Your goal should be to listen 80 percent of the time you are with the client. Ask open-ended questions, ask follow-up questions and be an active listener — lean forward, take notes, nod, paraphrase and summarize.
• Try to better understand the client’s business, business imperatives or legal needs.
• Look for ways to advance the relationship. Is there something you can do to help (e.g., make an introduction)? Is there a next step that would be useful (e.g., a summary of litigation matters in progress)?
• Ask for copies of any materials the client references, such as a business plan, policy or handbook.
• End on time!

As with most marketing and business development efforts, prompt follow-up is key. In that regard:

• Thank the client. Send a personal thank-you note and, if appropriate, a sign of your gratitude, such as some firm swag.
• Write a report. Share information you learned or feedback you received with lawyers and staff who work with this client.
• Follow up with anything promised. In many cases, there will be assignments coming out of the meeting. These could include producing updated case information, making introductions, conducting a training program, reviewing a document or even preparing a proposal for additional work.

A well-planned and executed client visit may be the most valuable activity in which you can engage. How many will you schedule in 2019?

Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com

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Sally Schmidt, President of Schmidt Marketing, Inc., helps lawyers and law firms grow their practices. She was a founder and the first President of the Legal Marketing Association, is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and was one of the first inductees to LMA’s Hall of Fame. Known for her practical advice, she is the author of two books, “ Marketing the Law Firm: Business Development Techniques ” and “ Business Development for Lawyers: Strategies for Getting and Keeping Clients .” Follow her @SallySchmidt.

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Create a Winning Client Presentation: Tips, Tricks, & Strategies

Sarah Burner

ClickUp Contributor

February 14, 2024

Pitching client presentations can be a daunting experience.

You have to convince clients that you’d be a good fit for their brand and have the best solution to their problem. That your product or service can help them achieve their goals.

With multiple elements in the mix, driving engaging and relevant presentations becomes challenging. 

Learn how to deliver a successful client presentation using the strategies in this guide.

The Importance of a Client Presentation

Step 1. research and plan the pitch, step 2. create a marketing funnel out of your presentation, step 3. use visually engaging content to communicate your story, step 4. encourage two-way conversations, step 5. establish clear next steps to close your presentation, 1. detailed client research, 2. client pain points, 3. proof points, 4. call to action, 5. expected investment and timeline, 1. not setting the stage properly, 2. getting defensive, 3. mentioning irrelevant information, 4. not guiding the feedback loop, pitch perfectly with clickup, common faqs.

A client presentation is meant to give prospective clients a good idea of your specialized expertise. It helps them see what working with you might be like and how you can add value to them. 

If planned and delivered well, an informative customer presentation can help you:

• Talk about your work in the format of a compelling story
• Articulate your value to potential clients
• Communicate the progress you’ve made to an existing client
• Wrap up projects and dissect what went well and what didn’t

Effective client communication is one of the most critical skills for a sales or business professional today.

5 Essential Steps for a Successful Client Presentation

Creating engaging client presentations is tough work, whether you’re about to deliver a sales pitch or a creative slideshow.

Use this five-step checklist when creating presentations and add value to your client’s time:

You may understand your work inside out, but your potential client has yet to warm up to partnering with you. 

This is why the most essential part of an effective client presentation starts with research and planning.

• Who your target audience is (for the presentation) and what their goals look like
• Everything about your prospective client, including their problems, inspirations, interests, and more
• How to answer your client’s biggest goals, roadblocks, and issues
• Their business, team size, and industry (and how your product/services will support their vision)

Now the question is, where do you find this data?

Make sure to look up the following:

• The client’s LinkedIn page and website for information on their current offerings
• Your past pitches for inspiration—especially if you’ve catered to clients in the same industry
• The client’s ‘About Us’ page and videos online for a better understanding of your presentation’s ideal tone of voice and topics

Once you have all the information about what makes your clients tick, help them make sense of the data—structure and format the key points you plan to deliver using ClickUp AI.

Utilize this smart assistant to generate a presentation to help you reach your prospective client goals faster.

Next, you’ll want to use the client meeting to talk about why your brand is right for them:

• Start by acknowledging their pain points, showing them that you understand them, and building trust in the process
• Move on to asking questions and see if they have any pressing issues that need to be solved
• Introduce your offering as the ultimate solution to your client’s problems and tie your product to their immediate needs

Your presentation needs a tangible end goal to ensure focus and direction. Do you want the client to sign the contract? Or maybe you want them to register for a demo. 

Either way, you must clearly know what action you’d like to inspire them to take.

Here are a few tips on how to convert your presentation into a marketing funnel:

• Build your narrative using a compelling story to hook the audience
• Don’t overload the prospect with tons of information
• Ensure your presentation is to the point, and avoid beating around the bush
• Take charge of your meeting and get your clients to focus on the conversation at hand
• Beginning: Introduce what is being presented, why you’re presenting, and what the client should expect when working together
• Middle: Add visuals to your story and create aesthetic value 
• End: Tell the customer about the next steps and add a relevant call to action

Use the premade ClickUp Presentation template and customize it according to your liking.

This template enables you to:

• Organize sections of your presentation easily, with a clear structure from beginning to end
• Gather feedback from key stakeholders before the final presentation
• Keep track of all tasks related to the presentation in one place

Too much text on your slides makes them dull and will overwhelm your audience.

So, when presenting, consider visual aids like infographics, pie charts, bar graphs, images, hand-drawn illustrations, etc., as your trusted friend.

These visuals offer advantages such as:

• Catching and keeping your client’s attention
• Aligning the client’s needs to the brand’s product/service—visually
• Breaking up text-heavy slides for better focus 
• Converting complex information into easy-to-digest data

Use ClickUp Whiteboards as a canvas to create a visual presentation for your meeting and show your clients your value.

Whether it’s a sales pitch or an onboarding meeting, it is necessary to keep your audience engaged. In other words, your presentation cannot be a monologue.

So, when the presentation is done, it is vital to encourage two-way interaction.

Here’s how you can do this:

• Avoid small talk and instead iterate why the client’s account is important to you
• Do you have any questions for us?
• Do you see our product/service as a satisfactory solution for your needs?
• How do we work together as partners and move this project forward?
• Motivate your audience to ask questions and provide support for their queries—whether it’s related to scope, costs, timelines, and so on

Effective client management is about establishing clear next steps at the end of the meeting. 

If you leave the meeting open-ended, you might not hear back from your audience.

Here’s how to set the right expectations for your client while closing the presentation:

• Outline what you want them to do next 
• Be upfront and direct about how and when you’ll be making follow-up calls
• Give the client a defined deadline and keep them in the loop always

Key Elements to Include in a Client Presentation

Brush up your client presentation skills and set your presentation up for success with these must-have elements:

Use primary and secondary research methods to gather information about your client’s pain points.

Get answers to these questions during your research:

• What are the client’s short-term and long-term goals?
• What problems are they currently facing within their industry?
• How does the client measure success?

Pro tip: Leverage sources like company websites, annual reports, industry publications, and social media platforms to get granular details. 

Invest in client onboarding software to efficiently organize and present your research.

Addressing your client’s current challenges demonstrates your understanding of their immediate needs and, by extension, establishes your relevance.

Do your homework about your client’s recent activities to identify current challenges they might be grappling with. Also, engage in discussions with your key stakeholders to get their opinions. In addition, you can use project kickoff templates to capture information about your clients from the get-go.

Your proof points validate your claims and build credibility by highlighting your track record and success stories. To showcase them:

• Gather case studies, testimonials, and performance data that demonstrate the effectiveness of your solutions within the industry
• Structure your presentation to strategically incorporate these proof points, highlighting them at key moments to reinforce credibility
• Use visuals, such as charts or graphs, to represent your proof points and make them more impactful

A clear call to action directs your client to the next steps they should take after the presentation and guides them toward a decision.

To make this process easier for them:

• Clearly outline the desired outcome, whether it’s scheduling a meeting, signing a contract, or starting a trial
• Provide multiple channels for the client to take the desired action and make it as convenient as possible for them to move forward
• Connect with them promptly afterward to reinforce the call to action and provide additional support as needed

Present a detailed breakdown of the investment required for your solutions, including costs, payment terms, and potential ROI.

To get an accurate estimate of your client’s budgetary and timeline requirements, ask these questions:

• What’s the maximum budget for the project?
• Are there any specific budgetary constraints to be aware of?
• How flexible is the client’s budget? Are they open to discussions about cost adjustments?
• What timeline do they have to get the project up and running?
• What will happen to the deadline and costs in case of a scope creep?

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid During a Client Presentation

Find the sweet spot with your presentation skills by avoiding these common mistakes:

Failing to establish the proper context at the beginning of your presentation leads to misunderstandings and a lack of engagement from your client. Manage client expectations and clarify what the audience should expect.

If your clients feel confused about the purpose of the presentation, they’ll never be able to grasp the value of your offerings fully.

To set the stage properly , follow these few tips:

• Understand your audience’s background and align your introduction to resonate with their needs
• Clearly state the objectives of your presentation and let your clients know what they stand to gain from your pitch
• Start with a compelling hook that captures their attention and sets the tone for the rest of the presentation

Displaying defensive body language, such as crossing arms, avoiding eye contact, or appearing tense, signals discomfort to your clients.

This can immediately undermine your credibility and rapport with them.

Plus, your defensiveness may seem more like a lack of confidence in your customer’s eyes, leading to a breakdown in communication and trust.

To sharpen your non-verbal communication skills , follow these tips:

• Pay attention to your body language during practice sessions. Also, practice maintaining an open posture and making eye contact to convey confidence and openness
• If a challenging question is asked, remain calm and open-minded
• Demonstrate active listening by nodding, smiling, and using affirming gestures. This shows your clients that you value their input and are engaged in the conversation
• If you’re unsure about something or need clarification, ask questions politely and respectfully. This demonstrates a willingness to understand and address your client’s concerns

Irrelevant details during a pitch are a waste of your client’s time. If there is no clear benefit of adding additional information about the company services, don’t.

For example, if your presentation is about account management, don’t talk about your company’s history unless it directly relates to the success of your account management strategies.

Instead, focus on showcasing account results as the main takeaway. This will keep your presentation focused and ensure you’re providing valuable information that directly addresses your client’s interests and needs.

Here are some strategies to effectively incorporate relevant data within your presentation:

• Add data that directly addresses your customer’s specific pain points and interests
• Identify the most important metrics that align with your audience’s goals and tie these metrics to the impact of your solutions
• Use charts, graphs, and visuals to present data in a clear and compelling manner
• Provide context of the data you’re presenting—help your audience understand why these numbers matter and how they relate to the overall story you’re telling
• Use real-life examples and case studies to illustrate how your solutions have delivered tangible results for similar clients

Finishing a solid presentation is not where your work should end. Keep tabs on your audience’s needs, starting with a follow-up call.

Use a free project management software like ClickUp and arm your company with real time client feedback into what’s working for them and what isn’t. A good client management platform can also automate many of these tasks. 

With ClickUp Forms you can capture your client’s responses and route work to the right team at the right time. Additionally, you can convert Clickup Form responses into trackable tasks, which can be plugged directly into your workflows

Read More: Strategies for Client Project Management

When it comes to a presentation, sticking to the basics makes sense. However, deliver the Big Idea in a way that wows your clients and wins them firmly over. 

So, incorporate research and storytelling and maintain a client-first approach to make your presentation stand out .

Use presentation software like ClickUp to deliver pitch-perfect pitches!

1. How can I improve an audience presentation?

Here are a few key takeaways on how to deliver a successful presentation:

• Spend time and effort researching and planning your pitch
• Convert your presentation into a well-defined marketing funnel
• Leverage visuals and images to highlight the USPs of your product or services
• Close the presentation with a two-way dialogue and clear next steps

2. What should I include in a client presentation?

You can include the following in a client presentation:

• Detailed client research
• The client’s pain points
• Strategic proof points for your presentation content
• A relevant call to action for your audience
• Essential details such as the expected investment and timelines

3. How can ClickUp help in optimizing a client presentation?

ClickUp saves you time and effort in creating effective presentations through its various tools as:

• ClickUp Presentation template, which helps you create effective and engaging presentations for your audience
• ClickUp AI, which allows you to generate a presentation outline within seconds; for example, creating a sales presentation for your sales process
• ClickUp’s Presentation Executive Summary Template, which helps you make a killer first impression with your presentation

Use these features and save the time that goes into creating presentations.

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.

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