There is a good reason to think about customer acquisition in dating terms. After all, aren’t you hoping to lay the foundation for a long term relationship? Here are five details that could determine whether a prospective client will want your relationship to move forward.

Before the beginning of any relationship, there is a first date – a first date with a lot riding on it.

A bad first date usually signals the end of relationship potential – and that goes for first dates with prospective clients as well as for romance. A good first date, on the other hand, can lead to subsequent dates and lay the foundation for a long term relationship, sometimes even a life-long relationship.

It is interesting that we use many of the same words to describe brand-client relationships that we use to describe interpersonal ones. Words like interest, intrigue, engagement, loyalty and even love.

Long before loyalty, referrals or even repeat visits occur, your organization must pass muster on a “first date” with a prospective client. Since the goal is to build long term, loyal relationships, it’s not a bad idea to compare them with dates made for romantic purposes, and plan accordingly.

5 Things to Consider When Planning a First Date with a Prospective Client

1. The attraction

You might believe that someone is a member of your target market or even a close match to your ideal client type only to find that they don’t share your belief, and vice versa.

The best business relationships occur when solutions are a close match to client needs, and where clients have characteristics common to those that the business is best-suited to serve. A poor match in either direction might mean that it’s not a good fit or that the timing simply is not right.

2. The ask-out

Taking the right approach with a prospective client can determine whether you get a chance to make your pitch or find out more about them.

Ask a lead out when they are too busy or distracted and you might not get another chance. Likewise, if you delay asking them to let you make a formal presentation or pitch, someone else might get in before you.

Creep them out by letting them know you’ve been stalking them on social networks or laying in wait and it’s likely the door will be closed. On the other hand, if you haven’t done enough research to have a basic understanding of their business and the needs and challenges it is likely to have and your prospect may not believe you have a personal interest in them.

3. The setting

Where will the date take place? Every setting has its pros and cons. Computer and phone connections can drop. Your office might not be suited to make a good impression. Their office might be more convenient and comfortable for them; however, it might also be too busy, conspicuous or might mean that competing priorities and interruptions will disrupt your time together. Restaurants can be loud and distracting.

You cannot account for every challenge, but thinking through the advantages and disadvantages of where your first meeting will occur can help to mitigate against those characteristics most likely to derail your first date with a prospective client.

4. The impression

You don’t want to bore your date, but you don’t want to overwhelm them either! Think through the impression that you want to leave as well as the intrigue you want to create; at the end of the date, the goal should be to leave the prospect wanting to know more or take the next step into the relationship.

If you try to tell the client everything there is to know about your organization or its products or services, they will either be overwhelmed or they will feel like there’s nothing more they need to know about your business. On the other hand, if you do not provide enough information about your solutions to create intrigue or convince them that your products and services would be of benefit to them, you will not lay the foundation for moving forward.

If your promises are too grandiose, prospects might be leery or believe that you are disingenuous. Alternately, if they take you up on your promises then you fail to deliver, they are highly likely to feel let down or even lied to.

5. The suggestion

There comes that moment in every first date when the time is right to ask for the next one. If you are unsure of whether it’s time to make an overt proposition, fall back on trial closing questions to help determine whether you’ve sealed the deal!

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Elizabeth Kraus is the marketing manager of business cash advance and receivables factoring company DB Squared and the author of From Beginning to End: 2014 Small Business Marketing Calendar, available on amazon.com.