It is important to show up prepared for any meeting. Before a meeting with someone that you haven’t met, you should Google the person or look him or her up on LinkedIn to find out about his or her background, work history and where he or she went to college, and look for common ground like people or places that you both know. Using this knowledge strategically can help you develop rapport more quickly.

If you are meeting with someone for a business meeting, you should know background information on his or her company in advance of the meeting. 

Erickson’s work on matching and mirroring is widely used in business settings. Mirroring or matching body posture helps build rapport. For example, if you are in a business meeting and someone is sitting back in his or her chair with his or her arms crossed, by subtly leaning back in your chair and crossing your arms, you can indirectly build rapport by speaking to the person's subconscious. By actively practising and gauging the results, you will be surprised by how well it works, and you will eventually start doing it naturally.

Imagine you are in the elevator with a person that can change the game for your business. You have a very limited window of time to take advantage of this opportunity.

In just two sentences, you should be able to articulate what your company does and why anyone should care. Also, people can tell from your delivery if you are sincere in your message, and they are subconsciously judging whether you believe in your own pitch. While your pitch is just the start, people will decide if they want to do business with you based on your pitch.