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3 Do’s & Don’ts When You Meet Potential Clients

You have a meeting with a potential client and you’re excited. The phone is finally beginning to ring and your business is taking off. Congratulations!

After the euphoria subsides and you slowly float to earth, the anxiety sets in and you begin to worry about what to do, what to say, and how to make sure he hires you and not some other freelancer.

Here are 3 Do’s and Don’ts to help you make a great first impression and turn this potential client into a paying client.

3 Do’s for a Successful First Meeting


1. Arrive on time.
This one’s a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many freelancers show up late for meetings. So arrive on time, even a few minutes early. Your potential new client will be impressed by your punctuality and you will feel calm and focused.

2. Observe the proprieties.
Make eye contact, smile, and shake hands firmly. Okay, that’s three packaged as one because you do them simultaneously when you first meet someone.

3. Arrive prepared.
Arrive prepared to sign this client at this meeting. Make sure you have the following items with you: your business cards, marketing brochures, laptop, portfolio, and two copies of your contract (one for you and one for your client, so you both have a signed copy).

Avoid These Don’ts to Make a Good Impression


1. Do not wear jeans.
Let me repeat this because it is critical. Do not wear jeans even if it’s casual Friday for the client company. Make sure you are dressed professionally.

2. Do not answer your cell phone.
Better yet, turn it off as you enter the meeting. When I am in meetings with clients or potential clients, and even when I visit with friends, I turn off my cell phone, so I can give them my undivided attention. When I first enter a business meeting of any type, I usually take out my cell phone and casually say, “Let me turn off my cell phone, so we’re not interrupted.” This subtly indicates that I think they are special because they deserve my undivided attention. It also acts as a prompt for them to shut off or silence their cell phones, as well.

3. Do not lie.
When you lie about your experience or on your resume, you will inevitably get caught because the publications community is a small one and people talk to each other.

Use these three Do’s at every meeting you attend, avoid the 3 Don’ts, and you will be on your way to impressing potential clients right into hiring you on the spot.

Do you have a favorite Do or Don’t for meetings with potential clients? I invite you to share it with us.

Write On With Confidence!

Cara
The Writers Inkwell Muse

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Writing for a Living

Most writers have second jobs.

That’s right. The majority of people who claim to be writers do something other than write to earn the bulk of their income. Why? Because writing is a tough business. Didn’t I write that before, in an earlier post? It really is.

Not only that. So many people aspire to be writers that the competition is fierce, so employers (or clients) can pick and choose who they hire for a job or a freelance project. Consequently, because so many people want to be writers, the pay is incredibly low. Except for the Jackie Collins and Steven Kings of the writing world or technical writers who generally earn a higher income thanks to the expertise they bring to a high-demand profession.

There are a lot of options, if you’re interested in being a technical writer. Think of a product, any product. Now contact that manufacturer to find out if they’re hiring. Someone has to write and format the user guide.

So dip your pen into the Writers Inkwell and

Write On With Confidence!

The Writers Inkwell Muse

What Do You Do All Day?

My neighbors have a bet going about me. They want to know what I do all day. They find it difficult to believe that anyone can really earn a living without going to “someplace” other than home.

The little old ladies can’t understand why I don’t have time to listen to their rheumatism stories for hours on end. The little old men want to know why I’m not tending my garden. And the working mothers are angry because they think I stay home all day and watch soap operas.

I recently learned that they have a running bet going and the first one to find out what I “really” do all day, that is, how I earn my income, wins.

So whenever I am outside, if one of my neighbors sees me, they head over and start asking questions. “How’s it going?” “What have you been working on?” “Who did you say you work for?” “Doesn’t your boss get upset with you taking so many days off?” “What does a writer do anyway?” “Do you fix computers? Mine is acting kind of funny. Maybe you could take a look at it?” And my two favorites, “Tell me the truth. What do you really do for a living?” “Do you have an inheritance?”

I guess in every neighborhood you have to have somebody the neighbors can talk about. In my neighborhood, I seem to be it.

I must confess that I somewhat like being the mysterious neighbor. It rather adds to the romantic notions that people attach to being a writer.

So, what do you do all day?

Dip your pen into the Inkwell and let us know.

Write On With Confidence!

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Writing—Not for the Faint of Heart

Writing is a tough profession. The writer’s life is a solitary one, pursued by the writer, alone with his mind, imagination, and the blank slate of paper or computer screen on which he crafts his work.

Sure, writers interview people and talk with editors and proofreaders and sometimes even photographers. Still, the bulk of a writer’s work occurs in solitude—when the writer is crafting the article, book, or document he was hired to write or is trying to sell.

Since humans are social beings by nature, writing as a profession is one that only a hardy few pursue with earnest. Even writers who work on staff at magazines and newspapers know that theirs is a solitary pursuit because, when their deadline approaches, everything comes down to them sitting down and writing, alone, in their office or cubicle. No interruptions. No conversations. Just the writer, that blank slate, and his ability to craft something his editor will publish.

No, the writing life is not for the faint of heart. You must feel so passionate about writing that you don’t care about the solitude.

So dip your pen into the Inkwell and get started.

Write On With Confidence!

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