What is your purpose & protocol for business development meetings?
Your purpose is to understand your prospect…so you need to have good protocols in place to achieve that.
Be aware that you need to understand what will block or promote an individual’s willingness to buy. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. As stated in Stephen Covey’s best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Your goal, purpose, or aim is your intention. It’s something you mean to do, whether you pull it off or not. If you’re not intentional, you won’t establish momentum and will lose opportunity.
Adopt a professional & disciplined protocol. It’s all in the setup. Much of your effort should go in before the meeting with the end goal being an understanding of your prospects/client’s needs. Be interested, not interesting.
Don’t go along for the ride, control your own destiny.