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MenuHow do you prepare for a client meeting?
What insights you need to close the deal? Do sales call prep document help? If yes, what to consider?
Answers
First of all, it's a 'prospect meeting', not a 'client meeting', if you haven't closed them yet.
Any system is better than no system.
"Flying by the seat of the pants" is a recipe for disaster.
Have a qualifying system. Do they need or want what you offer? Do they have a problem big enough to warrant your involvement in solving it (that's Budget)? Do they have a personality that you can work with? That's qualifying. That's what you should be doing in your prospect meeting.
If you limit yourself to a list of questions on a sheet of paper, you'll never cover everything. Have a consistent sales process. That'll guide you on what questions to ask in the meeting.
If your plan is to present your solution right away, you've goofed up.
Your system needs to give you feedback: why the sale advanced or died. And it's perfectly OK if it died--you just need to know why (not a fit on budget, for instance).
I teach a proven, ethical, consistent sales process. If you want to learn it, let's book a call.
Yes, yes, yes - always prepare.
Key things to consider
1 - a public agenda document shared with the other attendees. What do you want to achieve by the end of the meeting
2 - a private document just for your team about HOW you will overcome objections, pricing negotiation points etc
I always start a sales meeting by getting the other people to say what they want to talk about. So I let them set the agenda and it gives me a clue about where to focus my attention e.g. don't spend time discussing something which is not a priority (I say things like, I will email you that afterwards).
Always do a post-meeting debrief with your team so you can see if you succeeded in your goals. If you did not, why not?
See if it's because the other side introduced something new which you didn't anticipate in your list of objections. Learn from it and improve your pre-planning for next time.
Go forth!
Related Questions
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What is the most creative way to introduce myself (and therefore my service) to 100 key decision-makers without selling or pitching anything?
You've answered your own question. Reach out to your prospects with the question, such as "How would you...". Ask what people want then give it to them if you can with integrity and thoughtfulness.DI
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My startup just failed. What could I start to "immediately" generate $1,000/mo?
The quickest path to cash is almost always consulting. Be very specific about what it is you can offer. Don't just offer "business consulting". Find a niche and serve it. Reach out to your network, including friends and family and ask if they need or know of anyone who might want to hear about what your consulting has to offer. That will be way faster than trying to go at it from scratch or cold calling. If you call 100 people in your network this week, you will have a consulting gig within 3 weeks. Good luck, and let me know if you'd like advice on entering a digital marketing/lead generation consulting niche. I've grown from zero to $8,000 of monthly recurring payments in the last 40 days! DaveDR
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