Would you like to learn the skills for how to get a meeting with anyone you wish? If yes, then stay glued to this article.
Certainly, you should be interested in learning how to get a meeting with anyone, owing to how important meetings are.
It has often been said that meetings are where decisions are made, dreams are birthed and lives are changed.
In other words, a meeting with someone influential or an expert in your area of specialization or industry might just be the beginning of great things for you.
Especially if you are a business owner who is interested in collaborations and business dealings with others, as you should, you need to take meetings seriously.
However, it is rather unfortunate that many of those we wish to meet with to learn one or two things or collaborate seem out of our grasp.
It could be that these are levels ahead of us and/or are surrounded by protocols that might make it difficult to reach them.
That is the essence of this post, helping you learn the best ways to approach this situation and get a meeting with anyone you please.
What Does it Mean to Get a Meeting with Anyone?
Getting a meeting with anyone simply means mastering the skills required to bring anyone to around (or flat) table discussion with you.
It means being able to convince anyone to meet with you, either to discuss issues of benefits to them or importance to you.
Usually, such meetings are meant for business purposes and are integral to you building your brand or growing your business.
You might want to meet with someone to pitch an idea to them or sell them a product/service.
It might also be that you need investment in a prospective or existing business and you must set up a meeting with the potential investor(s).
Whichever the case, getting those meetings set up is not usually the easiest of tasks, especially when the other party is not readily available.
However, with the right tactics and skills, such as the ones discussed herein, you can be successful in carrying out this task.
And with little yet concerted efforts, you can effectively get a meeting with anyone you please and at any time.
Let us now look at some of the reasons you might want to get a meeting with someone.
Why You Might Want to Get a Meeting with Someone (Anyone)
There are several reasons why you might want to get or schedule a meeting with someone, especially in the business space.
The meeting might either be to your advantage, that of the other party or in most cases, mutually beneficial.
With that in mind, here are some of the reasons you might want to get a meeting with someone:
How to Get a Meeting With Anyone – Marketing/Sales Purposes
This ranks as one of the main reasons why we as business owners or executives seek to meet with other business moguls.
Perhaps, you own a business whereby your prospective customers include others in another firm in the same industry or another.
Pitching your products or services to these would usually involve setting up a meeting with the decision-maker.
It is during such meetings that you outline what you offer, and also talk about the benefits and importance of your products and services.
Most times, when you do not have the means to set up such meetings, you might resort to online discussions.
However, experience has shown that trying to close sales or win over a big prospect online or virtually has lesser chances of success than a one-on-one meeting.
And even at times when a virtual meeting is the only feasible solution, a meeting has to be held for pitching to take place.
In other words, your chances of selling to prospective “big” clients, which includes individuals and businesses depend largely on getting a meeting with them.
Pitching Business Ideas
Another reason you might need to meet with someone might be to pitch your business ideas to them.
Usually, these are potential investors, with the funds and/or relevant connections to help you with your business ideas.
To convince an individual or business organization to invest funds in your company, you need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you and your ideas are worth it.
Now, this is where setting up a meeting with them comes in.
For business dealings like this, it is not enough to pitch over a mail or worse yet a text message and expect a favorable response.
Rather, the best line of action would be to set up a meeting with these, either an online meeting or more preferably a physical meeting.
That way, you can effectively pitch your ideas, and also get feedback from them by way of questions and requests for clarifications.
For this reason, getting a meeting set up is essential.
Networking Purposes
Every enterprising business owner or a prospective one would agree that networking is essential to the success of a business.
Many businesses today close and execute contracts because of the kind of human relationships they’ve built.
While there are other factors necessary for the success of a business, having a good and solid network ranks high amongst this.
And this might also be a reason you might want to get a meeting with someone or anyone.
Such meetings are necessary to familiarize yourself with these and have a fruitful conversation that leaves a lasting impression.
Once that is done, it is easier to leverage these connections and network when the need arises.
Start now to build your networking skills toward that.
How to Get a Meeting With Anyone – Building Trust
Another reason why you might need to get a meeting with someone or anyone is to solidify relationships and build trust.
Sometimes, you might be limited in your options of meeting with people you do business with, probably due to location or distance.
Because of this, you might have to settle for virtual meetings or discussions over the phone or on emails.
However, there is always a likelihood of discussions being misunderstood when there is no physical one-on-one meeting.
Hence, to build on the foundations laid in virtual meetings whether, with a business partner, investor, or client, it is necessary to arrange a meeting with such ones.
How to Get a Meeting with Anyone – The Problem/Challenges
Despite how important getting meetings with people is, it is no easy task.
For one thing, many factors might make it difficult for you to secure or get a meeting with someone.
Some persons have concluded that it is practically impossible to get a meeting with just anyone.
And they have come to believe that meeting with some individuals is just beyond them and something they cannot pull off.
Well, here are some of the challenges of getting a meeting with someone or anyone:
Social Class Differences
This is one of the most common challenges or problems of getting a meeting with someone or anyone.
Usually, the people or individuals we want to get a meeting with might be of a higher social class than we are.
These might be big names in your industries, CEOs or owners of global world-renowned establishments, or even big indigenous ones.
While being optimistic, it is also realistic to know that there might be a gulf in social class between you and that individual.
Hence, it becomes challenging to secure a meeting with such ones due to the many protocols involved.
You might therefore find it difficult to get a meeting with anyone who is of a notably higher social class than you are.
Distance Barrier
Another challenge to getting a meeting with someone or anyone you have in mind might be the distance barrier.
Perhaps the person is in a different city or even country from where you are.
As such, it becomes hard to get a physical one-on-one meeting with them, and you might have to settle for a virtual meeting if possible.
This has also been one of the problems of getting a meeting with someone.
Conflicting Schedules
While trying to get a meeting with someone or anyone, you might also face the problem of differences in schedules.
Usually, for a meeting to take place, you and the other party need to agree on a day and time that works for both parties.
But this is a big ask, because your work schedule, appointments, and activities differ.
And as such, there might be a conflict of when would be the perfect time for each party to sit down and have a meeting.
This is also another challenge that people face with getting a meeting with someone.
How to Get a Meeting with Anyone – The Process
Irrespective of the obvious challenges that exist when it comes to getting a meeting with someone or anyone, it is achievable.
To achieve this, you need to learn the required skills, and you can get a meeting with just about anyone you wish to.
Find below some of the things you need to do to achieve this:
Do Your Research
You no doubt have a reason why you want to meet with someone, and this could be one or more of the reasons discussed above.
Once you have this in mind, you need to research the individual you wish to meet, finding out all there is to know about them.
For starters, you will need to find out their location, business industry, and their business history or journey.
It is also important to find out what their core values are and the kind of ideas they cherish and areas of interest.
While at this, you will also need to find what share values and interests you both have, to have a connection.
Also, you need to determine how that meeting will help them and not just you, i.e. what you are bringing to the table.
It is only when relationships have the potential to be mutually beneficial that they even start in the first place.
Leverage Social Media
One tool you can leverage and use to get the attention of anyone and even get a meeting with them is social media.
While at it though, it is good to understand the best way to use it without constituting a nuisance or getting the person you want to meet irritated.
One of the best social media platforms to make connections today and get a meeting with anyone in the business world is LinkedIn.
With LinkedIn, you can make connections with those you would love to meet, and gradually start conversations with them towards your end goal.
Remember though that before you send an invitation to connect, you need to have properly done your research as noted above.
This will ensure you are targeting the right person and also coming with something of value that will make them want to meet with you.
Once you are connected, you can tactfully drop a message for their inbox, introducing yourself and also why you would love to meet them.
Before then, you should also make it a point of duty to engage with their posts regularly, especially dropping your bits in comments and shares.
That way, you are making yourself noticeable by the person you want to meet with, and it would be easier to get an audience when you finally ask to speak or chat with them.
Use Emails
Cold emails might sound cliche, but they still work.
Emails are one of the most effective ways of getting the attention of people, especially in the corporate world, and those who are of a higher position or class than we are.
With a well-written email, you can let them know who you are, and why you would love to meet with them.
However, it is important that you choose the right time to send such emails, as sending them at the wrong time might result in it not getting the attention you want.
In line with that, we will recommend sending such emails on weekends, when you are sure that they will be the ones to open it and read the content.
This is because, for many of these individuals you want to meet, their emails are attended to by other assigned staff during weekdays.
And as such, the main person you are reaching out to might not even see your mail.
But when sent on a weekend, there is a greater chance that they will receive it and go through it by themselves.
Another thing you will need to pay careful attention to is the length of the email.
Try to keep it as brief as possible, as they might not have the luxury of time to spend reading long email copies.
And finally, it is good to make the email about what valuable thing you have to offer rather than just a selfish request.
If you do this, anyone would be more willing to get a meeting with you.
Be Where They Would Be
Getting anyone or someone to meet with you is more or less like hunting for an animal.
Usually, for you to be successful in this hunting process, you need to be where the animals can be found.
It would be futile going around a forest in search of fish, you would agree.
Likewise, for you to get a meeting with someone, you need to be where they most likely will be.
These might be avid readers who always visit a library, go to conferences, events, or workshops, or hang out professionally.
You need to figure this out and meet them at these places.
That way, it is easier to get a meeting with them and you are also doing that at both of you’s convenience, not interrupting their schedule.
Chances are they are very likely to be open to a brief tete a tete with you before or after such events.
Put an Audacious Phonecall Across
This is one of the most daunting tasks for any business person, especially when you are unsure of what the response will be.
It is easier for some to “hide” behind a text message or email and hope for the best, but a phone call is more audacious.
And that audacity is exactly what you need to get a meeting with anyone.
If peradventure you can get hold of the phone number of the person you want to get a meeting with, you should be ready to make the call.
When you do, be sure to quickly introduce yourself and acknowledge that your know they are busy and you will be brief.
Also, be sure to state the purpose of your call and include what value you are proposing in this message.
Then, after the call, also ask a question that makes them want to book another appointment with you, possibly over the phone, or more excitedly, one-on-one.
Follow-Up
The first phone call or email is just the beginning, and it is important to follow up.
If you do not have a system to follow up, you just might not get the response you desire from them.
Hence, it is good to always send a follow-up message whether or not the first one got a response.
This shows how important the meeting is to you, and ensure you remain in their thoughts.
Be Intentional But not Pushy
When it comes to getting a meeting with anyone, while it is very achievable, you need to be intentional about it.
You cannot leave it to chance, as that might mean it never happens.
Hence, you need to be bold and make deliberate efforts toward making the meeting happen.
You also need to remember that this might sometimes be a long-term process, depending on who you want to meet.
Hence, if you are not getting the result you envisage immediately, don’t lose heart, and don’t let that discourage you.
Instead, keep your head up and give it time, and also avoid being overly pushy, as this might come off as offensive.
With time and the proper application, you will soon get it nailed on.
How to Get a Meeting With Anyone – Conclusion
Who is it you want to meet in your industry or field?
Is the person an expert, professional, or potential customer for your existing or prospective business idea?
Whatever the case, you can get a meeting with just about anyone you wish, with the proper procedure and approach.
While this might not come without its challenges, you can overcome them and very soon start meeting with some of the big names, as you wish.
