Blunders and bloopers during meeting....

Luckily my first ever appointment went swimmingly well... And the guy even offered me a stakehold in another business he was buying as long as I apply my 'expertise' to it!

I'm still relatively new to offline, so I'm just learning as I go along... as with everything I suppose really?

You just need to be confident, don't back track.

Sometimes it's hard to explain very technical things like SEO to people who don't know much about them. So have some good metaphors prepared.

If you say something wrong or too technical, follow on with a better way I could explain that is...

Its funny to think that I am doing law enforcement job in real life dealing with nasty and dangerous people but the thought getting into blunders during meeting really frightens me. LOL!

I guess its all in them mind.


Qamar

I don't recall anything bad or not working when at a meeting, i am typically very thorough about everything i do - if something does happen i usually know enough about what i am doing to shrug it off and talk my way around it

i do remember doing a live training webinar one time with a group of people - and i dont think one of the attendees realized but i could hear everything coming through on their microphone and i swear to this day this attendee had one of the worse cases of gas i had the misfortune to hear!!!!! lol i wanted to stay "professional" as best as i could and obviously didnt want to call the person out or embarrass them or anything - but boy did i struggle keeping composure - it was nuts in the end i learned that its best to be very selective and active with the mute attendee button!

I had a customer talk to me about illegal substances before during a meeting, but I shrugged it off and tried to continue sounding professional.

The best way to get comfortable is to let them talk - just ask a lot of questions.

I had a HUGE blunder that actually just happened a few weeks ago... I had a 9am appointment with a prospect and was really rushed out the door (I usually try to meet with prospects in the afternoon) and my brain hadn't fully turned on yet. As I was pulling up to the business, I realized that I had forgot my phone with me!

I was meeting with them to sell them a mobile website and QR Code and obviously having my smartphone on me is a key part of the presentation!! I didn't have time to turn around to get it, so I just headed into the meeting anyway. To be completely honest, I was actually nervous! Fortunately the prospect had an iPhone and I was able to get him set up with a QR Code reader and do the demo on his phone, but I was still really embarrassed that this even happened.

It actually all worked out in the end-- I explained to him how I just rushed out the door and I think he was refreshed with my honesty and humility with the whole thing. He ended up buying from me, so I was able to save it!

I think the key lesson here is that $hit happens and you just have to role with the punches. Be honest with your prospect and it will actually make them look at you as something better than just another salesman. I guess it adds a personal touch in a way...

Anyway, that's my biggest blunder to date and I hope to NOT repeat that again!!

-Ben

Years ago, when I was selling corporate travel accounts, I had an offer using Delta Airlines coupons. When I began my presentation, he got all bent out of shape because he already knew about the coupons and started complaining (to say it lightly) about how this was a bunch of ^#$^&#$!!.

I gathered up my materials and said, "This is going nowhere. You don't want to work with us and I don't want to work with you so I'll just save us both a lot of time and leave." His jaw dropped as I stood up and walked out.

The best "blunder" I've ever heard was from a good friend of mine in Seattle. He had gone water skiing during lunch and took a sinus full of water when he wiped out. No matter what he did, he couldn't clear out the water... that was until he was on a sales call later that afternoon.

He leaned over the prospects big beautiful desk and as he did, the water poured out of his nose all over the desk.

Needless to say, the prospect was pretty freaked out as he looked at my friend and said, "You better leave. NOW."

I'd definitely call that one a blooper!

Great thread. I think with all things if you are confident in your approach, and take the upper hand in the meeting from the start you will be that much closer to closing a sale.