Before arriving at a meeting you should know what you want to accomplish. But you should also be prepared. Have up-to-date information about your counterparts, their companies and recent developments, claims the business2community.com website.
1. Gather information about the people you are going to meet
What are their current roles and their job history? Use Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook to find out. What are their backgrounds and what schools did they attend? You want to have an idea of what type of education they have, their hobbies and whether there is something you have in common. Perhaps you know someone in common. In case you already know one of the people you are about to meet, briefly go through your latest e-mails to help remember the content of your latest meeting or call. You have established a relationship that you can benefit from.
2. Have some information about their company and its current situation
Has the company had a successful quarter or year? Were there any significant changes recently, interesting mergers or acquisitions, perhaps? Basic information is also whether the company is a leader in their industry or are rather falling behind the competitors. You can always at least visit company websites and find some of this basic information.
3. What recent news has affected the company or their industry?
Has there been any big news in their markets? Was there something that caused disruption and had a huge impact on their businesses? Or is there any exciting news or developments currently affecting them?
4. How is it going in general?
Are they extremely busy, have they been struggling to solve some serious problems or have they had some successes and wins in recently? Was there something that attracted public attention to them personally or to their companies?
5. What do we hope to accomplish or gain during the meeting?
And the big question: What are they expecting from me and what value can I bring and offer to them?
-jk-