Your first meeting with a business client

Before you go

A business that agrees to meet you usually has a reason. Their current supplier let them down, they have moved premises, a contract is up for renewal, or a job has come up that nobody on their list can do. Find out which, before you arrive. A short call or email the day before is enough.

Hi Tom, looking forward to tomorrow at 10. So I come prepared, is there a particular job or problem you'd like me to look at? And will anyone else be joining us?

Then do twenty minutes of homework.

• Read their website: what they do, how many sites they run, who the people are.
• If you are meeting at a site, look it up on a map. Note parking, access and anything you can see about the building.
• Check who you are meeting. An office manager, a facilities manager and an owner care about different things.
• Check whether they have a supplier form or induction you need to complete. Asking ahead saves a second trip.

Be on time. If you are going to be late, ring before the meeting is due to start, not after.

What to bring

Business clients want to know you are a safe pair of hands. Make the proof easy to hand over, on paper and in a single email you can send while you are still in the car park.

Leave the glossy brochure at home. A clean one-page summary of what you do, your area and your response times is more useful.

What they will ask you

Most business clients ask the same handful of questions. Have short, honest answers ready.

• "How quickly can you respond?" Give a real time, for urgent and non-urgent work, that you can keep on a busy week.
• "Who will actually do the work?" They want to know if it is you, your staff or subcontractors, and whether it will be the same person each time.
• "Are you insured and licensed?" Hand over the certificate. Do not just say yes.
• "What happens if something goes wrong?" Explain how you handle a complaint or a defect, and how fast you come back.
• "How do you invoice?" Per job or monthly, and what details you can put on the invoice, like a purchase order number or site name.
• "Who else do you work for?" Name the kind of client, not private details, unless they have agreed to be a reference.

If you do not know an answer, say you will check and get back to them by a set time. Then do.

What you should ask them

The meeting is as much for you as for them. Good questions show you understand how businesses buy, and they stop you quoting the wrong job.

1. What has gone wrong with how this is done now?
2. Who decides, and who else needs to see the quote?
3. What exactly is in scope, and what is not?
4. How often, at what times, and how do we get access?
5. Are there site rules, inductions or security requirements?
6. What are your payment terms, and do you need a purchase order before work starts?
7. Do you have a supplier agreement or standard terms I should read?
8. How will you judge whether I am doing a good job?

Write the answers down in front of them. It shows you are listening, and it means your quote reflects what they actually said. Then let them talk. Owners who listen more than they pitch tend to come away with the details that make a quote land.

How to quote

Do not give a firm price for a real job in the meeting. Say when the written quote will arrive, and make that date soon. Two business days is a good habit. If they push for a figure, give a range and say what it depends on.

A good business quote covers:

• Scope. What you will do, where, how often, and to what standard.
• Exclusions. What is not included. This prevents most arguments later.
• Assumptions. Access times, who supplies materials, what happens if conditions differ.
• Price and GST. Show the price with GST clearly, and say whether it is fixed or an estimate.
• Validity. How long the price holds.
• Payment terms. When you invoice and when payment is due.
• Variations. How extra work is approved and priced before you do it.

Address it to the right entity. A strata quote goes to the owners corporation or body corporate, a property management quote often goes to the owner care of the agent. When you win the job, your invoice needs to meet the ATO's tax invoice rules if you are registered for GST, including the buyer's name or ABN for amounts of $1,000 or more, as Stripe's summary explains.

Read their terms before you sign

Bigger clients often send their own supplier agreement. Read it, and look for four things: when you get paid, what insurance amounts they require, what happens if they end the arrangement, and whether you are liable for things outside your control.

Small businesses have some protection. Since 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard form contracts are illegal and carry penalties, and the protection covers businesses with fewer than 100 employees or turnover under $10 million, according to ASIC. That does not mean every one-sided term is unfair. If a contract worries you, ask for the term to be changed, or get advice before you sign.

Payment terms deserve a direct question. Some larger businesses pay on 30 days or longer. Know what you can carry before you agree, and put the terms on every quote and invoice.

Following up

Send a recap email the same day. It is the single most useful thing you can do after the meeting, and most suppliers skip it.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your time this morning. To check I have it right: weekly cleaning of the ground floor office and kitchen, after 6pm on Thursdays, keys from the building manager, invoices monthly to accounts with the site name. You'd like the windows quoted separately.

I'll have the written quote to you by Wednesday. My certificate of currency and licence details are attached.

Thanks,

Mel

Then send the quote by the date you named. If you have not heard back within a week, one short message is fine: ask whether they had any questions about the quote, and whether anything has changed. If it is still quiet, leave it, and check in once more in a month or two. Decisions in businesses often take longer than the person you met expected.

If you lose the job, ask why. A short, polite question often gets an honest answer, and it is the best information you will get about your next quote.

After you win it

The first job is the real interview. Turn up when you said, do what the quote said, and send the invoice promptly with the details they asked for. A week later, ask the person who hired you if anything should be done differently. That one question turns a first job into regular work more often than anything you said in the meeting.

If you are still finding businesses to meet, our guides on how to find business clients and getting on a preferred supplier list cover the steps before this one.