One of the things that always surprises me is how often people go into a meeting without any background information on the person they’re seeing.
I’m not just talking about their professional history, but also their personal beliefs, interests and views.
At cynic, prior to meeting any new client/colleague, we used to send a “getting to know you” questionaire that asked such things as:
Favourite film?
Most overrated film?
Favourite book?
What was the last book you read?
Favourite comedian?
Favourite music?
Favourite sport/team?
Favourite television show?
Program you feel sick about as soon as you hear the theme song?
Best meal you’ve ever had?
What food makes you ill?
Favourite memory?
What is your guilty passion?
Favourite gadget?
Your kids favourite toy?
Favourite brand?
Favourite ad?
Note nothing about their work or professional life, all about them.
What’s amazing is how open people were to answering this stuff.
Sure, some obviously gave responses that were designed to make them look clever/witty/sophisticated, but in the main, they were pretty honest with their answers and what that allowed us to do was not only get a better take on who they were, but also what made them tick.
You see while the questions were fairly broad, they had been designed [the ones above are only meant as a taste of what we did, they’re not the actual, final list] to give us a better idea of how to approach working with them.
Depending on their answers, we would know whether they were more functional or a more emotional kind of person.
We’d get an idea if they were favoured more image based, fact orientated or storyline focused communication.
We’d understand if they were a follower of more traditional values or had a more liberal view of the World.
We’d find out if they were egotists or open to learning.
In short, we would have a bunch of information that allowed us know what buttons of theirs we had to press to increase the odds of us getting the ideas/work we believed in most, to get through – even if on first impression, they flied in the face of what they normally went for – and whilst it didn’t always work, it definitely helped us forge better relations with our clients and so the next time you go in to a meeting, don’t think you’re going to be able to dazzle them with your wit, charm, intelligence and good looks … put in a bit of homework and before you know it, you might find you’re being given opportunities – or getting things approved – that you thought would never happen.
This isn’t about being sycophantic or only doing what the client wants, it’s about building trust … and while that ultimately takes time to achieve properly [not to mention a continuous run of positive interactions] … knowing how to understand, respond and communicate to your client [to get the best possible outcome] ultimately collapses the time it takes for that to happen and speeds up the process to do the things – or get the opportunities – you are the most excited by.