10 meeting hacks!I have learned from Pedro Vieira

Lessons from our Boston/NY trip By @amarquet

Beta-i went on a trip to US for one week - July 2012

Rule #1!Be Pragmatic

• Pedro is super pragmatic, looses very little time with smalltalk.

• Conclusion: In western culture meetings are about business objectives. So, set yours and go after them.

#2!Use technical jargon

• Pedro masters jargon on entrepreneurship and talks with the best people about it.

• Conclusion: read books, talk with others, go to conferences. Be among the top on your field.

#3 !Ask lots of questions

• Pedro makes a ton of questions on the company, on the strategy and on everything he needs to know.

• He can be really pushy sometimes, making questions like "why don't you want to buy from us?"

• Conclusion: you must make questions about what drives the other party.

#4!Start with context setting

• Pedro will start the meeting by giving the other party a context: why am I here, then he proceeds on who am I, and then what is beta-i.

• Pedro only does the punch line at the very end of the meeting – sometimes he stays glued to the chair even after the meeting has ended.

• Conclusion: Explain what you want, and why you want it. That simple.

#5!Let others dreams!

• “Imagine we can make Lisbon a startup hub, and you can be part of that transformative process.”

• Conclusion: to sell you have to convince others about the big picture. The bigger the better.

#6!Know your business

• Mario knows how to save the princess, and Pedro invests lots time reading and talking about the latest trends on entrepreneurship.

• Conclusion: try to be on top of your area of expertise and benchmark against the best.

#7!LinkedIn Predator

• In lots of meetings the other party will receive a LinkedIn invitation even before the meeting ends itself!

• Conclusion: business cards are kind of obsolete but that means you have to fast online.

#8!Cross-reference

• Pedro will double check on people and facts, making questions like "what do you think about X?"

• Conclusion: most people speak based on assumptions not hard facts so cross check your sources for higher degree of trust is crucial to a avoid bad decisions.

#9!Gathering intelligence

• Pedro gets his hands on brochures and other literature on the company, sometimes on the reception desk of the company prior to the meeting.

• Conclusion: lots of companies expose valuable corporate information inside doors, try to give an eye to yearly reports and product brochures before you go to the arena.

#10!Be a bull - never give up

• Pedro does not loose his stamina after a first no - he will keep on fighting.

• After an initial No, most people go, Ok he does not my product, I will go somewhere else - Pedro has a No filter, and he will just adapt and go on pitching.

• Conclusion: in business don't let a NO affect your morale. Adjust and keep on fighting.

Go grab your ticket to the top floor!

This presentation was composed in Keynote on an iPhone 4S. Photos by André Marquet.