I've got my first real meeting- Help me not look like a fool!

May 5, 2008 11:12 AM

I have a meeting with an important figure in my field. I've never had a real meeting, let alone with a person of any genuine import. Help me prepare! More details inside.

I recently started my first "real" job. The title was a little vague- Marketing Assistant- and it's kind of evolved into "Online Marketing Guy". This is great- I'm down with the kids, I know my way around AdWords, I have a Twitter account. I did a lot of reading, caught myself up on the pace of modern internet marketing and started to make some changes. I feel confident.

On Friday, I have a meeting with someone who is a minor God in the pantheon of internet/social-media marketing. We're a small company and this meeting was set up by a much bigger and much, much richer benefactor. In short: This is a super rare opportunity and I can't muck it up. I've been unable to get ahold of this minor God's book, but I read his blog and all the articles he's written. So, again, I feel confident.

Here's what you can help me with: What are some pertinent questions about social media marketing you might ask a minor God of the field? More generally, what do I need to know about "business" meetings? 6 weeks ago I was another schlub with a BA- I've never done this before. It's a dinner/drinks kind of meeting, so lax, but I'd like to not look like a fool. I have a habit of kind of overlooking things.

Any tips/tricks are well appreciated. I'll post any answers to your Q's that I get to ask. I'm not really nervous about the meeting, maybe just more about conduct and decorum. How to handle someone who is essentially donating his valuable time. And Q suggestions are welcome!

posted by GilloD to work & money (4 comments total)

I know my way around AdWords, I have a Twitter account. I did a lot of reading, caught myself up on the pace of modern internet marketing and started to make some changes. I feel confident.

I read his blog and all the articles he's written. So, again, I feel confident.

Bravo, you're on your way. Stay in touch with your feelings and you won't muck up anything. If drinking is an issue, don't drink. If you feel quiet, be quiet. Don't force yourself.

This probably isn't intended to be a "quiz the god" meeting, and you're not interviewing him for a book, so random questions may not be appropriate. But questions about how his past experiences may help your company (I repeat: your company doesn't have problems, but everyone can use good new ideas) will be welcome both to the god and to your bosses.
posted by JimN2TAW at 12:37 PM on May 5, 2008

I have found a good question to ask experts is what emerging trends in their field do they see developing. This allows them to touch on their areas of expertise and can give you valuable insight that could be useful to making strategic decisions about directions that your company could take in the future.

In specific you could ask about the monetization of social networking. I was recently reading an article about the monetization of social networking sites and the problems that Google is facing trying to use their common AdWords strategy. Could be a conversation starter.

Good luck with the meeting!
posted by skewedoracle at 1:24 PM on May 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Clarify a few things for yourself ahead of time, using the simplest "for dummies" language you can:
- What is the purpose of this meeting?
- What fascinates me about this person and their work? What am I curious about here? (This one's good to ask the other person, too: What interests you about your work now, what are you curious about in general?)
- How will I know it's a successful meeting for me/my company--what would happen as a result of it?
- What would make it a successful meeting for Minor God--what benefit is there to him and how can I contribute to that?
- Are there any "next steps" I can put in motion to keep the relationship evolving?

You don't have to be explicit about these things during the meeting (though sometimes it's a refreshing tack), but having some answers to these questions will give you guideposts through a candid conversation.
posted by cocoagirl at 1:30 PM on May 5, 2008 [2 favorites]

Know what the purpose of the meeting is, and make sure the meeting addresses that purpose. Why has your benefactor set up the meeting? (We don't need to know this -- but you should!) What does he want from the meeting, what does your company want from the meeting, what do you personally want from the meeting, and what result would your benefactor like to see? Basically, what is it a "super rare opportunity" for? Presumably the meeting wasn't set up for you to fawn over this person.

Since you've mentioned you tend to overlook things, the point of considering these questions is to make sure they can be addressed in the meeting. If something is supposed to get done in the meeting, not getting it done is wasting everyone's time. Maybe what's supposed to get done is that you get inspired and he/she feels good for being a minor god -- that's fine, but know that's what you're going for.
posted by yohko at 11:40 AM on May 6, 2008