If meeting with clients on a regular basis is a big part of your business, you know how complicated the process can get as your client base grows. Here are a few things you can do to make meetings with clients more convenient overall:

Make Use of Meeting Schedule Software

An excellent way to make sure that you don't double book meetings with clients and to eliminate the chance that clients will request meetings when you aren't available is to make use of meeting schedule software. This type of software will allow you to create a monthly schedule by blocking out dates when you're unavailable and highlighting dates and times when clients can schedule meetings. Once a client schedules a meeting, that time would be automatically blocked out so that other clients can schedule at the same time. Most scheduling software, like Add-On, can be connected to your Outlook or Gmail accounts so it syncs with the calendar you use on a daily basis.

Create Guidelines to Follow

It's also a good idea to create a set of meeting guidelines for you and your clients to follow during meetings so everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what to expect when you get together. The guidelines should be straight forward and simple yet help make your meetings productive and as succinct as possible. The guidelines should be written up as a short contract, and your clients should sign it and send it to you before your first meeting. Implement guidelines such as:

• An outline of what the client wants to speak about during the meeting should be created and emailed to you before each meeting so you can edit it and send it back if necessary.
• Clients should show up for in-person meetings or call in for virtual meetings at least five minutes in advance to ensure that your day's timelines are met.
• If money will be exchanged during your meetings, specify whether your clients should bring cash, checks, money orders, or another form of payment with them.

The idea is not to push a bunch of rules on your clients, but to make the meeting process more convenient and productive overall.

Send Follow-up Emails after Meetings

By sending follow-up emails to your clients after each meeting, you'll have an opportunity to recap what was said and agreed upon at the meeting and to get feedback on how well they thought the meetings went as a whole. Your clients can ask follow-up questions, and you can answer them without having to get on the phone or schedule another meeting. You can also use your follow-up emails to start planning future meetings if necessary.

These tips and tricks should make it easier for you to effectively communicate with your clients and enhance productivity during your meetings. 

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