Preparation is Key to the success of EVERY Meeting

Every meeting you facilitate or attend should have an agreed agenda and clearly defined actions going in and coming out.

Whether Virtual or Face to face.

During or after Covid 19 restrictions are eased and lifted.

I really mean EVERY meeting…

Prepare for every meeting and every conversation with a customer as if it’s THE meeting… As if it’s THE conversation that will win trust and gain business.

YES, it seems fundamental, AND, you’d be surprised and how mismanaged SOOO many customer interactions are. Use these 3 key areas to ensure preparation and ultimately success when “meeting” with your customers…

• Agree the agenda in advance

  • Prepare for the meeting, directly relating to that agenda

  • If it’s a follow on meeting, agree previous open actions and agree current status.

• Capture all new actions, agree a time frame for completion / advancement

  • How do we close them?

  • What is required to move forward?

• Stick to the agreed timeframe.

We are all busy. Yourself and your customers.

As you navigate your calendar, as you meet with your prospects, customers, clients, regardless of whether they are new or longstanding, you should be prepared with a structured agenda that shows an ability to manage the information, and ultimately get your customer an answer.

And demonstrating your ability to respect their time, and deliver on promises made.

Organise the meetings.

Prepare an agenda, that you agree with the customer, ahead of the meeting. Yes that means email and call them before the meeting, to agree what you will discuss, so that you both / all understand, and so you are aligned on the intended outcome of the discussions.

For each point on the agenda, do YOUR share of the work in advance;

Example: If you have listed “review open actions”, make sure you know exactly what they are. (Agree that with your customer in advance) and ensure you know the exact status of everything you can impact.

If there is a need to present something, prepare the presentation, and make sure it answers the questions…

Make sure also the technology you will use to present it actually works.

I can’t tell you the amount of meetings I have been to where the presenter, has either forgotten a password, their laptop has “Just died” they don’t have the right adapter for the Projector or they have no back up. Frustrating for all present, showing a lack of professionalism, and disrespecting the customers’ time.

Yes, shit happens… we are human, so forgetting a power chord is not the end of the world. IF you had emailed the presentation to the customer ahead of the meeting / copied it to a memory stick, or given a copy to another colleague ahead of time, the meeting can progress. Everything is recoverable, when you have prepared in advance.

Therefore it’s critical that you are ready for EVERY meeting; be it a face to face discussion, (Post Covid, - Socially distanced etc,) a Zoom / Teams call, or just a telephone call, Every meeting is precious and should be respected…

So now you are prepared, agenda set and agreed, and you have all you need, (PLUS back up) for a successful meeting:

Timing is everything:

Of course we all know the meeting scheduled for an hour, that lasted 3 hours or more, that seemed to just flow…

That’s great, IF both parties agree the time was well spent.

Imagine being the sales lead, leaving the meeting, euphoric that you captured that amount of time with your customer, and “Really moved things forward”, only to later find out that the hour was really all the time the customer had, they are now way behind, and they are annoyed that you took so much time.

Respect the agenda, respect the allotted time, and really make sure that IF you are over running, it’s with mutual agreement and for mutual gain. Otherwise, you agree a follow on discussion and meet another time.

For me, the most important part of the meeting is to Ensure open actions are advanced, and new actions captured and agreed, with a timeframe put to each one.

Sure, I like the human contact, I like being able to create relationships and understand the customer more, and spend time with your prospects. That’s a great way to build rapport and find mutual understandings… Ultimately knowing your customer better than anyone else will help to differentiate you as a sales person… (That’s another Blog. That’s another conversation. Look out for that discussion.)

Ultimately though, you are both in the room to advance your cause.

You are selling / They are buying.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO MOVE THIS SPECIFIC PROJECT FORWARD?

Agree what actions are open from prior discussions (If not a first meeting)… Before you move forward, agree current status…

Then throughout this and every conversation, take notes / actions, and add a timescale to complete…

Then do what you say you will do…

“I’ll get you an answer to that in 3 days…” DO IT.

“I’ll send you the full presentation with notes added, as soon as I am back in the office…” DO IT

“I will introduce you to XYZ through email this evening…” DO IT

There’s a lot more to talk about within the meeting… How do you ask the right questions to get the right information? How do you ensure your sales pitch is delivered? How and when do you try to close? All topics for further papers.

I wanted for now to focus on the essence of the meeting… The preparation and delivery of the meeting. The Respect for your customers time and attention, and the Doing what you say you will do.

Manage Every meeting and every conversation well, and your customer will respect you.

Do the same internally at your company and your colleagues and management, will respect you.

This for me is a non-negotiable, Must have skill for a professional and successful sales person for the long term.

So, I’ll say it again:

Prepare for every meeting and every conversation with a customer as if it’s THE meeting… As if it’s THE conversation that will win trust and gain business.

• Agree the agenda in advance

  • Prepare for the meeting, directly relating to that agenda

  • If it’s a follow on meeting, agree previous open actions and agree current status.

• Capture all new actions, agree a time frame for completion / advancement

  • How do we close them?

  • What is required to move forward?

• Stick to the agreed timeframe.

  • Respect your customers time and get it done.