Deciding which meetings to take is not easy. How do you determine which vendors are worth your time? And how do you know which to avoid, like the one (a true story) whose rep fell asleep during a presentation?

To answer these questions, former and current federal officials offered some tips on ensuring vendor meetings are meaningful:

Assign homework to vendors. Too many vendors think the meeting will be a sales pitch—that they have 30 to 60 minutes to tell you why their company is great and why their product is fantastic. But most experts we spoke with said they don’t care about that and will stop a sales pitch in mid-sentence. Most agreed that federal managers should tell the vendor, at the very least, to do some basic research about the agency, its mission and the problems it is trying to solve.

One former official used to ask vendors for a one-page document detailing what the vendor and the official would get out of the meeting. Another said he expects vendors to know the administration’s goals and have in-depth knowledge about important programs such as the Federal Enterprise Architecture and President’s Management Agenda.

Separate the wheat. Many officials receive so many requests that they could spend their days just meeting with vendors. One former official suggested assigning staff members to meet with companies whose products or services are less pertinent to your needs, but still worthy of time. Another suggested having your assistant screen the vendors before you meet with them to keep vendors whose products or services you don’t need off your schedule. But experts also cautioned execs to be careful not to appear too inaccessible.

Sell the vendors. Meetings with contractors give federal executives the opportunity to more clearly communicate the agency’s or administration’s mission. You can manage vendor expectations and show them how they can support your needs, experts say. It’s also important to meet with senior company officials and establish a relationship with them. That way, if there is ever a problem, it will be easier to pick up the phone and try to resolve the situation at the top.

Another key is to make it clear to the vendor that your meeting will not influence buying decisions; the conversation will be about education and market awareness. What’s hot, what’s not. Vendor meetings can help you learn what’s happening in the marketplace. What is the newest technology, product or trend? Experts agree that meetings should provide you with a better understanding of what vendors are doing with different customers, what business models they are applying and how their business or marketing strategies have evolved.

Shake some hands. Speaking engagements can be the bane of an executive’s existence: cold, runny scrambled eggs, rubber-chicken lunch and, after the speech, the long line of vendors waiting to stick a business card in your hand. But experts concur that speaking engagements are an important part of the government exec’s job—both from a public relations perspective and for the opportunity to meet new people. You never know when one of these impromptu, post-speech encounters could lead to a more formal, comprehensive meeting that could ultimately benefit your agency. Moreover, speaking engagements also help sell vendors on your agency’s mission and goals.