As a Salesforce consultant, you usually start working during the design or implementation phase. This means the commercial agreements have been made and sales properly handed off all their detailed documents to you (don’t laugh, this actually happens sometimes).
Your first meeting with the client is hopefully a kick-off meeting. This is where the key stakeholders introduce themselves, both on the client and your team’s side.
Here are also some important considerations for this initial contact:
Trust
Since there are usually new faces and relationships to create, it’s important to start building trust. There are many ways to do this. One of my favorites is to start making small promises (and then keep them). But any way you build trust is good – just start building it.
We
The next thing is to start using the word, “we”. As a partner, there shouldn’t be much “you” and “us” anymore. As much as possible, you should move and work as a single team. So throw in many “we” and “us” into the conversation often.
Collab
Communication and collaboration methods are another vital topic. For example, how will you use email, Slack, Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. To whom and when to escalate issues.
Next steps
Lastly, be sure to discuss what are the next steps. This doesn’t need to be a detailed timeline. But knowing who will be needed for what and when is key. For example, plan a series of working sessions.
The takeaway
First impressions are made during the kickoff meeting. Be sure yours is a successful one by covering the important topics and setting a tone for the rest of your engagement.