Need Advice on Big Meeting That Could Help Me to ER

[JB2033]

I have a big meeting with a fortune 500 companies president that is a client of my company next week. I have never had a meeting at this high a level and am a little nervous.

I was hoping for some words of advice from some old sages on this board to help me out.

I really appreciate any advice!

 

[knucklehead 61]

be professional & treat him with respect but remember that he puts his pants on the same as you do, one leg at a time.

 

[JB2033]

Thanks man. Good Advice. The meeting is next Thursday. I will try and remember those words of wisdom as I go in.

 

[fisherman]

Impress with a can do attitude and do not try to impress with knowledge. Otherwise give respect but do not fawn over them. It could lead to a big opportunity in the future if handled right!

 

[Ronstar]

Be professional, but above all, be enthusiastic. He's had a lot of meetings with people that know there product/service/etc, but the enthusiasm is what he'll remember

 

[dex]

I have a big meeting with a fortune 500 companies president

Who is it?

 

[JB2033]

President of a Berkshire Hathaway owned company. Several of his underlings are going to be present, and my boss, and a big shot from a different department within my company.

They are already a client of my company. The meeting was requested to gather information, and for us to give them an opinion on how to solve a problem.

 

[Martha]

My best advice is to be prepared. Know your stuff inside out and backwards. Then you will be comfortable in your knowledge and do well in the meeting.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I'd be nervous too. Good luck and we want a full report!

 

[Nords]

How good are your bosses, really? Are they helping you to get ready for this or do they expect you to get yourself ready? Would they take the time to let you run through your presentation in front of them so that they can critique your style and help think through a few questions or scenarios? Failing that, can you gather an audience of your knowledgeable peers for the same purpose?

If this was a flag officer visiting/touring a training command, I would've been mustered for daily practice briefings starting about two weeks ago. I'd also probably be on rev 14 of the brief by now.

The guy has probably seen a gazillion presentations and can listen while reading. If you have a habit of reading from your slides... don't.

If you've gone over the presentation so many times that you know it by heart and can race through it at 200 words per minute... don't.

President of a Berkshire Hathaway owned company.

If you're saying that the president is running a really really big company with lots and lots of people, then he'll either be an impatient fire-breather or a really nice guy. If he's a fire-breather and doesn't like what you're saying then he'll flame on you or your bosses. If he flames on you then try to let the warmth wash over your body, don't take it personally, answer the questions you can answer, and say that you'll work on fixing [whatever it was he didn't like]. He didn't show up there specifically to execute you and his temper tantrum may just be a way of emphasizing his [-]enthusiasm[/-] point. Hopefully your bosses will be thankful that you're taking the heat, not them, and they'll think of you more kindly at performance-review time. Of course a really good boss would jump in to defend and help out.

If this president is a really nice guy then he'll make you feel as if you're the most important briefer he's ever listened to, and you'll wonder why you ever felt nervous about it.

If you have really good bosses then they'll jump in when he asks a complex question (or if you overlook a mistake) and clarify "Well, what JB meant to say was..."

Like Martha says, the better you know your stuff then the more you'll be able to talk in a normal voice without that high-pitched quaver choking up your throat. It'd be bonus if you could sneak a water bottle up to your podium for an occasional swig.

 

[Rambler]

Been there, know how you feel. Based on what you said, I assume that your bosses are doing most of the talking. ?? Regardless, what everyone else has already said really does apply. Know your stuff, relax and don't be nervous, smile, offer a firm but not overbearing handshake, and don't forget what knucklehead61 said above (I would have said something to the effect that he does the same SSS routine that you do in the morning). Now then, see, that wasn't so hard?!?

Good luck

R

 

[freebird5825]

Good luck with your meeting.
I used to psyche myself out before events like this. I would worry about being asked a question I could not answer. It did me absolutely no good.
Preparation is key. If you cannot recall data from memory, put together brief and simple to read notes for you to glance at in case a critical number escapes you. Better yet, bring along a supporting "data person" who is right there to pull the info out quickly. It takes the pressure off of you.
I used to do this for my Senior Tech Advisors when we had a higher level briefing. We would put the info together as a team prior to the meeting. No matter what was asked, I was heavily depended on to "come to the rescue". I [-]dreaded[/-] didn't enjoy presenting, so it w*rked out for everyone.
Smile and maintain eye contact with your audience. Invite questions. Count to 3 before answering a question.

 

[Midpack]

All the answers are above. I have met with many CEO's and the like, although most were not Fortune 500.

• Be prepared, whatever that takes for you. If you're afraid you'll lose your train of thought, write everything down. If you don't use it, fine, and it is a good way to prepare anyway. If you need it, you'll be glad you did.
• Don't be intimidated, in the end we're all people. If the CEO can see you're intimidated, it will reduce your impact. CEO's see it all the time, so they recognize it. He (she?) will be more impressed and even comfortable with you if you are confident but a little humble. That does not mean to overcompensate and be overbearing, just be your normal personable self. Relax, you will do better.
• You have something of value to them. You're no better and no worse than anyone else in the room. Again, know you're stuff and relax.

After you've done it for a while like I have, you'll realize CEO's are just people too and most would rather be treated like human beings. In my experience, some are asshats, but most are smart, decent human beings just like everyone else.

 

[donheff]

If this was a flag officer visiting/touring a training command, I would've been mustered for daily practice briefings starting about two weeks ago. I'd also probably be on rev 14 of the brief by now.

That's one of the things I truly hated about my job. Practice drills before presenting something to the Administrator. I understood the purpose but hated the practice.

 

[ERD50]

Lots of good advice here, this one stuck out for me:

• You have something of value to them. You're no better and no worse than anyone else in the room. Again, know you're stuff and relax.

I think that can be a real confidence booster and help put you at ease. Just remember, they asked you there because they don't have all the answers. So in some ways, *you* are their superior. So unless the CEO is just an asshat, his/her people will be trying to at put you at ease, as they want this information from you. They have nothing to gain by making you uneasy.

You might also get a read on this from others that have met with them, but don't pre-judge too much either.

OK, one small tip - I recall meeting with a bunch of VPs from another MegaCorp with a VP from my MegaCorp . This was early internet days, and I took a few minutes that morning at home to check the news reports on the company. Turns out they issued a great earnings report the night before. So I mentioned that as we were doing our introductions and congratulated them, and I think it was a decent ice-breaker, and our VP seemed to be impressed that I was current on this. Just like you should learn details about a company before a job interview - same thing. Might help in a small way.

-ERD50

 

[RunningBum]

In addition to what's been said here, I've been given the advice to be succinct. Give background info as needed but don't dwell on it so that you can get to the point. Have the detailed info in reserve so you can drill down if you are asked. Take cues from the bigwig. If he indicates he's got the point of a slide, move on. And do present to and take cues from the bigwig, not the underlings. Don't completely ignore the others, but your focus is on the big guy.

This is just a general guideline. There are times when you really do need to present the details to show that what you are presenting is not fluff, and there are some execs who want full info rather than bullet points.

 

[John Galt]

if you're a chick, try to flash a little boob.

 

[Gotadimple]

if you're a chick, try to flash a little boob.

Yeah, that one will get them pitched out pretty darn fast -- goodbye lucrative business relationship!

Recognize that the CEO is a busy person. As others have said, be succinct, and take your cues from the executive.

-- Rita

 

[Nords]

That's one of the things I truly hated about my job. Practice drills before presenting something to the Administrator. I understood the purpose but hated the practice.

For us nukes it worked out to about an hour of practice (and cleaning) for every minute of tour. However it can also produce those once-in-a-decade opportunities.

At my second training command I had to tour the admiral in charge of Navy training. He had a reputation as a good guy but was one of those unpredictable aviators and was thus viewed with suspicion & skepticism by the submarine force. By this time I was pretty smart on where the money and billets came from and I knew how to work the system to get our "fair share". When the troops would finish showing the admiral a new system or training program, I'd chip in with "... and we've sent in a revision to our billet structure to get the money and manpower to permanently support this training."

At the time our training commands were only 70% manned because the Navy was sucking wind on recruiting and retention as the economy boomed. (Remember the late '90s when the Internet "New Economy" was going to pay off the national debt in a decade?) Viewed as a recruiting problem, every sailor rolling to shore duty was forced to screen for recruiting duty-- which unfortunately used the same screening sheet as training commands. So recruiting was 200% manned at the expense of the training commands. BUPERS had even paid Spike Lee to produce/direct a series of recruiting commercials-- perhaps some of you veterans recall the "Go Navy, rock on" commercial showing junior enlisted flight-deck crew stationed on an aircraft carrier. They'd formed their own [-]garage[/-] hangar band and were jamming in front of a cheering crowd of shipmates. Ol' Spike was pulling down fees that would have run our training department for several years. Big sore spot with everyone in the training community, especially among the instructors who were pulling extra duty to cover the gaps.

So... after the third or fourth time I showed the admiral how well I could play the billets/personnel/budget game, he lost a little patience with my one-note piano pounding. He asked me "And just where do you think I'm going to get these instructors to fill all your billets? And just where do you think I'm going to get this funding?" Submariners challenge each other like this all the time so I reflexively shot back "Gosh, admiral, maybe we could stop paying Spike Lee so much for misleading teenagers about sea duty. We could run this department for three or four years on his budget". As soon as my words flopped onto the floor I immediately wanted to clap my hands over my mouth. My CO instantly jumped in with "What he meant to say, admiral, was that..." while the aide scribbled furiously in his notebook. I didn't get to say much during the rest of the tour.

Six months later BUPERS "realized" that they were paying $50K per recruit (including Spike's payroll). The new BUPERS admiral* suggested that maybe some of the recruiting money could be used to raise retention bonuses instead of on speeding up the manpower revolving door. Six months after that Spike had moved on to other projects, our instructor manning was back up to 100%, and our nuclear-trained instructors were getting nuclear pay for teaching nuke topics on shore duty.

[This was Norb Ryan, the guy now running MOAA.]

 

[jIMOh]

Are you selling something to him
is he selling something to you
is this about a supplier?
is this about information sharing only?

Treat anyone with respect
but do not suck up
be enthusiastic and its OK to have a different opinion if what you believe is genuine

 

[Achiever51]

While the message is the most important part of any meeting, it's important to know the protocol too. Excuse me if this seems obvious, but I've been in more than a few meetings where some clueless dork ended up looking like they just stepped in dog doo on the way in.

Before the meeting: Ask your boss what's the dress code for the meeting and if you should bring any particular materials (e.g., special handouts, etc.)

At the beginning of the meeting: Before you enter the room, inquire of your boss where you should sit...probably next to your boss, but he/she might suggest another seat, e.g. across from your counterpart of the other company. If you are not arriving with the rest of your group, be the first one at the site. The most senior person should lead the way into the meeting room; as the most junior staffer, you should be the last one in and close the door behind you. If you are there before the other side arrives, you should stand up when they enter. Let the VPs lead the introductions. If the group is small, shake hands with the members of the other side and exchange business cards. (unless you can remember all their names, either refer to their business cards or list their names in your notes so you can address them by name if called upon.) If coffee/refreshments are available in the meeting room, hang back until the others have served themselves before serving yourself to a bottle of water or cup of coffee only....and take a napkin to put under the cup/bottle. Take your cues from the others about removing suit jackets, loosening ties, rolling up sleeves.

During the meeting: As others have said, you're there because you have information to share. Answer any questions directed to you briefly and pleasantly. If you are making a Powerpoint presentation, keep the number of words on each slide to a minimum and NEVER turn your back to the meeting to read from a slide. If you're sitting around a table for an informal presentation and you have handouts, either pass them to the right and left or walk around the table handing them to each person. Do not start your presentation until everyone has their copy, and make sure the pages are numbered so you can direct them to the right spot. If someone else is making a formal presentation, as the junior staffer you should manage the lights if they need to be dimmed.

After the meeting: Stand up and shake hands with the other side, holding back until your senior person makes the first move. Assuming you will have a debriefing with your boss or the entire team, make sure you know your next steps. You might be asked to summarize the meeting in an email or as meeting notes; if so, do them as soon as you can. Thank your boss and his/her boss for including you in the meeting.

 

[chinaco]

If you are being sent to do the job... someone has some confidence in you. Therefore you are likely ready already. Make sure you know the company and the issues related to the purpose of the meeting.

You will do fine.

 

[freebird5825]

I almost forgot this one...if your guests have traveled a distance from their office, by all means point out the restrooms to them BEFORE the meeting starts. If it is a marathon (time-wise) meeting, take a kidney or stretch break halfway through.
Sounds silly, but you will have their full attention during the meeting by remembering that Mother Nature does call on all of us.

 

[DivinDave]

all the advice is spot on, the only thing i might add is to answer any question slowly and in a calm quiet voice. Pause like you're taking a drag on a big cigar.

With any luck you'll notice they'll be leaning in to hear every word. That when you'll know you'll have their full attention.

Good Luck Buddy!, I'll be thinking of you next week!