The right conference venue can really make a difference

Anyone in business will have been required to attend a huge number of meetings, and the majority of these will ultimately be incredibly similar to every other meeting – you get an invite and attend, you debate, discuss, conclude, sum up and allocate to-dos. They’re all the same and they’re all in the same place; no one pays any attention to where they’re hosted, the room layout is a trifling detail, the refreshments lacking or non-existent.

You shouldn’t let past experience affect future performance though; put a little effort into your meetings, plan an agenda that works and pick a location to suit, and you’ll find that it can make the difference between acquiring that crucial new client or selling that important new product to an existent customer and no business at all, so it really is in your interest to get a little more strategic next time it comes around to meeting a client. After all, it’s obvious that a client that has been treated well will be more inclined to do business with you.

Hosting the meeting away from your own offices can make a difference. Choosing a venue away from your offices, but perhaps one that is familiar to all parties is a great way of shedding the inherent sense of home territory. This sense of home territory can lead to a defensive client. Levelling out the playing field by shedding this sense of ‘us and them’ should lead to happy, relaxed clients who can feel confident in their position; something that could lead to brokering a good deal or resolving any issues.

Obviously, a little pampering is always going to help. It’s a well established fact that a client that’s been treated well will pay dividends in the long run. Providing them with an easy commute is a great start if they’re not local to your offices. Whether it’s booking an external meeting venue or a hotel room prior to the meeting, one of the greatest gifts you can give to the travelling businessman is a break from travelling. Residential conferencing is also an option. Residential conferencing is a facility provided by many hotels, allowing the client to stay in the hotel overnight and conduct the meeting in the same venue the very next day. Generally, hotels will be kitted out with all the necessities for business, including internet connections, whiteboards and LCD projectors.

The way the seating is laid out can make a huge difference. Having the various parties sitting across from each other on a single table can hold meetings back. Business psychology tells us that a straight on meeting with a table dividing creates a more formal and competitive conversation. It can be a lot more beneficial to break up the rigidity of this seating structure a little. Depending on the numbers in attendance, there are a number of varying options for seating arrangements. Different set-ups are applicable for different types of meetings. There are a huge number of books out there that focus on meeting psychology, and you should definitely try and get at least one under your belt if you are regularly arranging meetings.

In the long run, the time you spend on planning and improving the meetings your business holds, the better the results of these meetings is going to be. The best thing is that not only will it affect the success of your client meetings, but it may also improve the efficiency, openness and outcome of your own internal meetings.