Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity

Chapter 6. Consulting & Selling with Graphics: Drawing Out Customer Interests

If you are a consultant or a salesperson you are aware of how important the initial meetings are with customers. It is here that first impressions are made, assumptions about scope and possibility arise, and trust is established. In sales this would be called building rapport. In consulting you might think of this phase as scoping. Both cases are very similar. In this chapter we will look at using visual meetings to be successful connecting with your customer.

By this point you should be aware of why drawing and visualizing as an active process is very involving. It's rooted in the fact that our minds are all conditioned to find patterns and make assumptions based on partial information. When visualizing is used to listen it provides immediate feedback to how people are heard.

Drawing on the Same Side of the Table

A strategy in negotiations is to try and get on the same side of the table with the other person. If you are taking visual notes during an initial meeting, it is a great excuse to move around so the person you are talking with can see what you are creating. Two people sitting on the same side of a table looking at a sheet of paper or a tablet computer has a completely different feel from sitting across a table. It's a visual symbol of cooperation already.

There are some tried and true initial conversations ...