Discover The Benefits of In-Person Meetings for Your Business
What are the benefits of in-person meetings? Are face-to-face encounters really more impactful than virtual meetings or phone calls?
The answer might be found in how we instinctively tip a hotel valet yet often overlook the housekeepers.
Think about it: A housekeeper significantly contributes to our comfort and satisfaction during a hotel stay, arguably more than the valet. Yet, we tend to tip the valet more generously (If we even tip the housekeeper at all).
In this Midwest Mindset episode, Matt goes through the reason why in-person interactions are more effective for business and hotel valets!
The Benefits of In-person Meetings: Visibility
The effectiveness of in-person interaction lies in visibility: we engage with a hotel valet directly, while the housekeeper’s work remains unseen, so it’s harder to recognize.
The same can be said for business interactions and sales. Meeting clients, coworkers, and colleagues in person provides a sense of human interaction, which can help build trust and make it easier to form effective business relationships.
In-person Meetings vs. Virtual Meetings
This doesn’t mean virtual meetings and phone calls aren’t effective; the truth is that cold-calling is still a powerful tool for sales and business.
However, virtual meetings and phone calls lack the emotional and human connection that face-to-face meetings provide.
Adding in-person meetings to your sales and networking strategy will improve your business relationships and the connections you build with your clients.
How to Make The Benefits of In-Person Meetings More Effective?
So, now that we have a clear understanding of why in-person interactions are the most effective tool to close sales and do business, how can we make sure that we are taking full advantage of face-to-face meetings?
Here are five things to keep in mind when meeting with a client, potential business partner, or any other strategic person.
Building Stronger Relationships
In-person meetings help to establish a deeper and more personal connection with clients.
Face-to-face conversations allow salespeople to make a more personal impact.
This is your time to demonstrate your genuine interest in the client’s needs, which often boosts trust and strengthens the relationships.
Non-Verbal Signals
In-person meetings provide the opportunity to read and interpret non-verbal cues such as body language and facial expressions.
These clues can be critical in understanding a client’s intent or genuine feelings about a proposal, product, or service, which may be lost in digital communication.
Here are several key signs to look for when interpreting a client’s body language:
- Eye Contact
- Facial Expressions
- Posture
- Gestures
- Proximity
Greater Engagement
One-on-one meetings typically generate higher levels of engagement.
Attendees are more focused, without the distractions that often come with virtual meetings, such as multiple browser tabs or notifications.
This engagement increases the chances of effectively communicating your sales pitch and understanding the client’s needs.
Immediate Feedback and Resolutions
In-person meetings allow real-time conversation and instant feedback.
This can lead to quicker resolutions of objections or misconceptions that might otherwise delay or hinder the sales process in online communications.
Demonstrations and Presentations
Physical meetings offer an optimal environment to conduct live demonstrations or showcase physical products, prototypes, or samples– an aspect that’s particularly crucial in some industries.
Showcasing your product in person often leaves a stronger impression and stimulates more senses than a digital presentation.
Should We Forget About Video Meetings?
Having face-to-face meetings doesn’t mean forgetting all about virtual meetings. The reality is that virtual meetings still have advantages over in-person meetings.
Shifting initial sales meetings from in-person to video calls increases the number of potential clients a rep can engage with per week, making the process more efficient.
This efficiency boost, in turn, advances more prospects through the sales pipeline, increases deal closures, lowers prospect reluctance due to the perceived lower time commitment, and results in reduced travel costs.
So, what are you waiting to start your in-person and video meeting strategy?
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