During Strictly Come Dancing one of the big questions is always:  Which couple has the best chemistry?

It’s not always the pair most technically perfect; but the one judged by the viewers to work best together.

The same applies to supplier-client relationships. Most companies want to ensure they are compatible with you before entering into a critical partnership.

Often this is done through a ‘chemistry’ meeting.

Preceding a formal pitch, the chemistry meeting is designed to assess whether both sides have similar attitudes, values and perspectives and will be ‘a good fit’.  Later meetings will be about procedure, resources, plans and detail.

Right now, it’s about feelings, getting along – likeability.

You might have some business to attend to – such as getting a brief or taking a tour of the client’s premises.  But it’s really about chemistry.

The question to ask is:  How will the customer FEEL about you when you leave the room?

By coming up with some words to describe this feeling, you can reverse-engineer the meeting to get the desired result.

Say you would like the customer to feel that you are:

• Experienced and knowledgeable about them
• In sync with their culture, and
• Interested in them.

If that’s the case, then here are 3 chemistry questions to address before this important first (and potentially only) meeting.

Chemistry Question #1: What other companies have you worked for in this market?

Although your client may be looking for an innovative approach, it’s usually from someone experienced in their area.

This gives a sense of security – the bedrock of any new business relationship. If that’s not possible, then offer up examples of situations where you have worked to a similar brief and got good results.

Be resourceful but don’t lie or bullshit; clients usually detect it and it can create problems further down the line if they don’t.

Chemistry Question #2: Are you in sync with the client’s culture?

In 2006 I was presenting my credentials for some sales training to an advertising agency in the very trendy Farringdon area, just near our offices at Natural Training in London.

Rather than gathering in a traditional meeting space, I met the client in the café, full of plasma screens and uber-cool people decorating beanbags with their trim stomachs on display.

Now I’m from a media background and know how to mix it, don’t get me wrong!

However try as I did to fit in I felt that from a communication perspective I only received and gave off about 50% of the messaging that I would normally achieve in a meeting.  There were simply too many distractions, and I left the meeting feeling dejected.  I’m sure the client did too.

In hindsight, I should have tried to gain a better understanding of the company culture straight away.  I should have dressed more appropriately (designer rips in my suit?!) and really just relaxed about the whole thing!

Even though I was received well, and I think they liked me to a degree, I failed to really spark with the client in a chemistry sense.   And it cost me – I never did receive that business.

So ask yourself the following:

• Are you the right person/team for the job?
• How should you turn out?
• What’s the best way to deliver your message?
• Can you have access to the room prior, or at least an accurate description?
• What is the true AIM of the meeting, from both sides?  (Listen carefully to their language as they describe the meeting – is it casual or formal?)
• Have you visualised yourself in the environment?
• Have you run the client through a Social Media wash cycle?  (Facebook, Linked-In etc).

Although you’re not trying to mimic your client it’s generally a good idea to know what they expect.

Turning up suited and booted, laptop at the ready can be a jar to a client expecting an introductory chat over a coffee.

That said it’s better to over-compensate and adjust than under-estimate and start flapping.

In short it’s about style as well as substance.

Chemistry Question #3: Have you done your homework?

Have you ever arrived at the first meeting and known not much more about the client than their postcode?  I have.  And I will never do it again.

Right back to Dale Carnegie in the 1930s we are told that to win friends and influence people, we need to show an interest in our fellow human beings.

Showing an interest = asking questions.  Successful selling stems from asking the right questions.  And the right questions are informed questions.

Clients tend to feel (it really is about feeling in chemistry meetings) that potential suppliers who have taken the time to find out about them and their company are the ones they want to work with.

Use your research as the basis to ask intelligent questions and you start way ahead of the game.

Does a good chemistry meeting guarantee you the business?

Unfortunately the answer is no.  But a bad one will almost certainly guarantee that you lose it.

The bottom line:  In a business world that’s full of competitors trying to dance with your partner, it makes sense that you should pay attention to not just the moves, but the chemistry.