Hey, it’s Marie Forleo, and you are watching MarieTV - the PLACE to be if you want a business

and life you love.  And this is Q&A Tuesday. Today’s question comes from Jenna.

Jenna writes,

I have a meeting with a very well known company that is my DREAM partner! It’s all very

exciting and I’m thrilled to get the meeting, but I am freaking out a little bit because

I don't know how to prepare. They have an event every year that would put me in front

of millions of their subscribers, who are my target audience. I think it would be an

amazing opportunity, so my main objective is to solidify a speaking spot at their next

event.

Besides that, do I just go with the flow? Should I prepare anything formal? I’m feeling

self conscious because everything on my site is not as polished as I would like. Any advice

or suggestions to really hit a homerun at the biggest meeting of my life?

Yes girl, we gotcha covered!  Big meetings like this, especially when you want something

really bad, can get us all shaking in our boots. The good news here is that there’s

some SIMPLE things you can do to make sure you knock this meeting right out of the park.

First and most important...

But seriously, here’s your seven point checklist for before, during, and after your big meeting.

BEFORE THE MEETING

1.  You’ve gotta do your research.  Use the Google, find out what this company has

been up to. Look on their social media pages.  Do they have any great press about them

lately? And use your network. Do you have any friends that work there? Or friends of

friends who might happen to know somebody? The whole key here is that you wanna get to

know them in a way that’s gonna surprise them.  

2. You wanna create ways to add value. So, don’t go into that meeting trying to prove

how great you are. You wanna focus all of your effort on what YOU can BRING to the table

to benefit the company. So, just make a list of all the ways that you feel like you could

add value to this organization. And, even better, write down your ideas or whip up a

little fancy little PDF and bring it into the meeting. That kind of preparation is impressive

and it’s rare!

DURING THE MEETING

3. You wanna lead with your heart.  Go in there and be generous and be enthusiastic.

Share how this company has inspired you. CHAMPION them and what they're up to. You gotta remember,

even people that work at big companies, they wanna be heard, they wanna be acknowledged,

and they wanna be appreciated for who they are and what they do.  

4. Be Present and Really Listen. So, first of all, make sure you go into the meeting

and your cell phone is turned off. Then, really listen and hear what they have to say from

their point of view. Don’t interrupt them. When you go are in a meeting with that kind

of energy and presence, you’re gonna create results that you can’t even predict.  

AFTER THE MEETING

5. Send a Thank You note.  Handwritten notes are so unexpected and really memorable these

days. So make sure you do it, it will leave a great impression.

6.  You Gotta Follow Up: So if there are any open loops, make sure you follow up in

a timely manner via email or a phone call.

7.  And this really is the most important. You have to Detach & Trust!  I know so many

of us can go into big meetings thinking that one meeting or one relationship is really

gonna make our career and the clouds are gonna part and trumpets are gonna sound and that’s

it, we are off to success land. But it rarely happens! You have to remember, nothing is

really gonna make or break your career, especially not just one meeting. So when you’ve done

your best, you’ve done all these other steps, you’ve gotta leave and really detach and

let go and trust the universe. When you get back home, get re-engaged in your core business

and trust that if something’s supposed to come about, it absolutely will.

The key to hitting a home run in any meeting is to MAKE it about what you can GIVE vs.

what you can get. I’m telling you, you go into any meeting and think give, give, give,

it’s gonna be amazing. And, in fact, our friend Russell Simmons has an awesome quote,

(and yes it’s a Tweetable!) “Good givers are great getters.” @Uncle_Rush

That’s how you’re really gonna shine and impress the pants right off them.  That’s

right.  Make em’ pantless. Pantsless!

Jenna, that is my A to your Q. Now go knock ‘em dead in that meeting and let us know

how it goes!

Now I would love to hear from you: What was the biggest meeting you’ve ever had in your

life? Did you impress them? Did you leave them pantsless? Would you go back in time

and change anything with a big meeting that you’ve been through? I wanna hear about

it!

Leave me a comment and let me know. In case you haven’t heard, the best stuff always

happens after the episode over at MarieForleo.com

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Stay on your game and keeping going for your dreams. The world needs that special thing

that only YOU have.  Thank you so much for watching and I will see you next time on MarieTV!