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Using Meeting Agendas Using agendas can help establish professionalism and rapport with the client For many general contractors, the thought of using a meeting agenda seems silly. After all, they are not Fortune 500 companies meeting with boards of directors. Why should they make their homeowner meetings high-pressure and formal by writing down the topics they wish to discuss? Perhaps, a meeting agenda is not just a piece of paper. Perhaps it is a low-tech business communication tool which can be used to conduct and control sales, staff and other business meetings. In fact, this tool can help do a couple valuable things: control the tone and content of important meetings with clients and project a professional face for your company. Although contractors can be pressed for time, this added step in the process actually can improve time management in the long run. By providing an agenda, the contractor is signaling that time is precious to both him and the client. The time spent qualifying each other will be well used. By preparing both parties for the meeting, there should be no "I’ll get back to you later with the information" or "Let’s set up another meeting to discuss an alternative plan." While follow-up meetings are not necessarily a bad thing, they can be time-consuming and a waste of time if the initial meeting was not planned efficiently. In fact, it is wise to provide a draft agenda to the homeowner once a meeting is scheduled. The draft can be sent to the prospective client for review and comments. Once they have made alterations or comments, a final version should be sent back to them at least one day before the scheduled appointment. Among the meeting items which can be detailed on the agenda are date of the meeting; beginning and ending time; location of the meeting; attendees invited; scope of work; time frame for project; and budget. Other valuable information that may be conveyed via the agenda may consist of the ground rules of engagement. On one hand, the contractor may make a commitment on his part to turn off the cell phone and beeper and otherwise remove distractions from the meeting. On the other hand, the homeowner may agree to take the phone off the hook, lock the pet in the bedroom, have a babysitter for the kids, etc. The objective is to have each party value and respect the other party’s time. For the contractor, what better way is there to distinguish his company than by giving his undivided attention to the homeowner? A remodeling company with which I worked recently started using an agenda. They knew it took a little extra effort on their part but were committed to improving their meeting productivity. They were pleasantly surprised when a potential client e-mailed them back a response to their preliminary agenda. The homeowner was floored by the customer service demonstrated by the contractor. She detailed how disappointed she had been in the past with contractors who had cancelled appointments or worse yet, did not show up. She added a few items to the agenda, and the result was a successful meeting and a signed design agreement. Before even stepping into the meeting, the remodeler had a huge advantage in having established professionalism and good rapport with the client via that agenda. The use of an agenda can force meeting members to focus on the job at hand. Even if discussion strays to other subjects, there is always that piece of paper calling participants back to the objective of the meeting. For example, say a couple would like to renovate their kitchen. However, during the course of the meeting a laundry list of wishes comes out. They really would like to put an addition on to create a family room as well as a new kitchen. They ultimately would like to build a new attached garage, etc. Chances are they have a budget that needs to be the reality check for them. If the meeting agenda spelled out these long-term goals, run with it. If they have limited resources, and the family room and garage were not on the agenda, don’t waste their time or yours by discussing pipe dreams. Contractors today have tremendous weapons in their arsenal of business tools. Perhaps one of the most potent is a simple piece of paper. |
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USING MEETING AGENDAS By Joseph Dellanno May 25, 2004 Reprinted from Residential Design & Build Magazine www.dbmagazine.com |
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