HOSTING A BUSINESS MEETING Return to American page

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When guests are visiting at your location

to make a proposal or for a sales matter

When confirming the meeting, make sure you know the following:

· The date and time of the meeting.

· The objective of the meeting.

· Who from your organization do they feel should attend.

· How many people will be attending. Get all the names, if possible.

· How long they expect the meeting to last.

· If they need for you to arrange local transportation to the meeting.

· How much time they will need to set up demonstrations, if necessary.

· If it would be a good idea to have one of your technical people on call for the visitors during the setup for the meeting.

· Do they need equipment, such as:

--An Internet connection.

--A projector for their computer.

--A projection screen.

--Should people from your organization have computers?

--A white board and markers.

--A tripod with sheets of paper and markers.

--Telephones for conferencing people in.

When confirming the meeting, tell the guests:

· Directions to your location.

· The people who will be attending from your organization.

· Whether your organization will be proving a meal, refreshments or a reception.

· If casual attire is appropriate. (Do not mention this unless it will be casual attire.)

· If you arrange local transportation, give them the information they need.

· If they offer to cater a meal or a reception and you accept, offer to provide some names of caterers.

Prior to the meeting:

· Reserve a conference room, if one is needed.

· Make sure all the points above have been arranged.

· Communicate everything above to attendees from your organization.

· Confirm to the visitors that all the details above have been arranged.

· Give the visitors the names of those who will attend from your organization.

When the visitors arrive:

· Let them know where to hang their coats.

· Ask if they need refreshments, such as coffee, tea, water or soda.

· Let them know where the ladies and gentlemen’s rooms are located and ask if they need some time to freshen up.

· If they need some time to set up demonstrations.

· Tell them to make themselves comfortable.

· If refreshments, a meal or a reception is planned, let them know the anticipated time when they will be served.

· If it is to be a lengthy meeting, ask them if they feel if it would be appropriate to take a break at some point.

· Ask them if special lighting is needed, such as dimmed lights or closed blinds.

When the meeting begins:

· Normally, business cards are exchanged when introductions are made (see note about business cards at bottom).

(If the visitors are from Asia, it is a good idea to spend some time examining their business cards and, if appropriate, to comment favorably on their cards.)

· Usually the first five to ten minutes are spent in friendly conversation aimed at getting to know each other. Then the meeting is turned over to the visitors.

Actions that might be appropriate at the end of the meeting:

· Summarize what you feel are the most important points that have been made.

· Let the visitors know what unresolved issues you feel are still outstanding.

· If a business decision is possible, but not appropriate at that time, it might be appropriate to say something such as:

“Where do you feel we should go from here?” or,

“What do you see as the next step?”

Special note about business cards (especially helpful for Asians): Americans may seem disrespectful about business cards. They may take a card with one hand and not examine it. They may drop their cards on the table in front or casually hand them to you with one hand. Customs are different in the U.S. and their casual treatment of business cards is not intended as disrespect for you or your organization.

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