Have Your Best Meeting Ever! 2 Apps that Prepare You for Anything

You've been in the business long enough to know that awkward silences happen to even the best conversationalists. But what if you could head them off with a quick quip about your new contact's favorite NBA team, a recent news item you know they enjoyed, or even a deep cut related to their work history?

Well, you can. In this post, we'll review two impressive apps that will help you nail every first interaction (and subsequent conversation) you have with new leads, acquaintances and more.

The Charlie app

Imagine if, before meeting a new client or potential client, you had time to run 57 Google searches on them and then had enough time to synthesize your searches into an easily digestible one-page brief.

In short, that's what the Charlie app does. Charlie takes your contact's name and general information and uncovers:

• Job title and history
• Recent press clippings
• Social media highlights
• Personal connections or business connections
• Personal interests, including sports teams, bands and other hobbies they've publicly "liked" or talked about

And even if you forget to run a Charlie search, the app can be set up so it reviews your upcoming meetings and sends you the brief before you enter an upcoming meeting.

Pricing and availability: Gmail users can use the web client version of Charlie by entering their email here. Charlie's iOS app is available for a 30-day free trial; the cost after the trial ends is $19.99/month.

Accompany app (in beta)

A newcomer on the scene, Accompany is run by a team of ex-Googlers whose goal was to create a "digital chief of staff."

While still in beta, Accompany has the chops to be the next big thing in virtual assistance and contact research.

Accompany begins by securely integrating with your email, calendar and contacts, therefore taking a deep dive into your day-to-day and your overall network. Accompany users are encouraged to work from the Accompany calendar, which offers a short dossier of info about every contact they will meet throughout the course of their day.

While it seems to have been designed with high-ranking executives in mind, it's easy to see how anyone could benefit from a more robust calendar solution that focuses on the people attending each meeting or appointment, in addition to the logistics of where and when.

Pricing and availability: Accompany's app is available on iOS and they also have a web client version available for Gmail, Outlook, Exchange and Office 365 users. Currently, Accompany is in beta so there is no cost for the service. We assume that they will have a paid app once they roll out in full later this year.

Get your head in the game!

What other apps do you use to keep the conversation flowing? Tell us in the comments!

Plus, check back later this month as we explore how to naturally bring up conversation topics that you've researched (and when to just admit that you googled someone).

To view the original article, visit the Realtor.com Results blog.