Things they don’t tell you about Client Meetings.

As an intern, I have a few preconceived ideas about professionalism and the corporate world. Of-course recently (Ahem! Today) most of them were proven wrong and a few were validated.

And so, here are a few things that you will never learn in college about client meetings.

Professionalism is a bore

Sure sounding like a professional is necessary however if you overdo it you might just turn out to be a bore. In a first client meeting, it is not only important to establish the fact you are competent enough to do the job however it is also important to be a person they would want to work with. Project yourself as someone they want to hire just for the person you are, even before seeing your work.

Be firm yet funny, sound professional yet peppy.

Have a clear Vision

Sure, a firm handshake is necessary when you meet the client. However it is also necessary to remember that a single handshake is not how you judge the person!

It is necessary to have a clear vision of what you are pitching. Know what you know thoroughly but since it is a first meeting be malleable to the client’s inputs.

Always assume your clients are smarter and they will chew you up if you slip.

Don’t make excuses

It is also necessary to know your strong points. If you are by chance caught off guard by something you were unaware of don’t try to act smart. Your clients are not stupid. Just admit you were uninformed and you will look upon it.

Don’t make excuses!

Have ample of photographs

You work in a very visual field. Have several mood boards ready just for pitching ideas, even if they are quite vague.

By showing enough pictures you will somewhere arrive with at least one picture with the client’s tastes and their needs. For the next meeting build on that.

Be clear with the timing!

I cannot stress enough on this point. When scheduling people often underestimate the total time required for designing.

Make your clients aware of the way you work, and the kind of timeline they should be expecting. It is very important to make them aware of the process, and that it may take time to come up with their dream project.

This way even though they might have underestimated and made errors they would still have time to update their schedule on time.