The most important part of a sales meeting is what happens before.
You can have the best script and an outstanding offer.
But, if you’re not prepared.
It’s all for nothing.
In this guide, we take a look at how to prepare for a sales meeting, things to watch out for, and tips on how to seal the deal!
1. Research
Company
You should already have enough details about the prospect’s organization before getting into the call. Still, company research goes beyond knowing how many employees they have and what products they’re currently making.
Those points themselves don’t paint an accurate picture of who they are and what they do.
You need a more holistic view.
The following tips will help you:
- Go to their website and find out their vision and mission. This will help you align the solution you’re presenting to them with their “big picture.”
- Check out the organization’s posts on LinkedIn; it will show you a bit of their company culture and how your approach in the meeting should be.
- Most companies put out their financial statements, this doesn’t just help you with qualification, but it also shows you their company’s health.
- What are their last projects? Are they shifting to tap into a new market? Are they innovating? These questions will give you clues on packaging your product.
Industry
Analyzing their industry is a must before prepping for a sales meeting, so you’ll want to know who the big players are and how your prospect’s organization differentiates itself from the big guys. A little competitor analysis will go a long way when you want to “name drop” and ask your prospect how they want to get ahead.
Also, look out for trends in their industry that you can capitalize on. There can be other prospects that you can tap into in case the meeting falls through.
The Prospect You’re Meeting
Beyond all the critical points to remember, such as their industry pain points and the size of their company, getting to know the person beforehand is the most vital.
The more “backstory” that you have about your prospect, the easier it is to find different points of approach during the meeting.
The most obvious benefit is the quality of conversations that you’ll have with your prospects. You can ask them questions regarding their experience, hobbies, etc.
It’s easy to build a prospect profile by simply using LinkedIn. You can read about their achievements and companies they’ve worked with in the past and even pull context clues about their personality by examining their other social media profiles.
This helps because you can find more ways of resonating with them, and that builds rapport.
Before the meeting, make sure that you:
- Check all their social media profiles that are public – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Note down significant achievements they’ve made in the past.
- Find a way to check out their hobbies.
- Pay attention to highlights in their experience.
During the meeting, you can start a sentence like, “I saw in your profile that you did X, I was also involved in Y, how did that work for you?” and let them talk. Regardless if you already know what’s coming, the mere fact that you got to know them and are listening to them is enough to be the foundation of a connection.
2. Sales Material
It might seem a little too obvious that you should prep your sales material, but a lot of things can go wrong during a presentation.
Here are a couple of checks you can do for both physical and digital sales meetings:
- Did you proofread all your slides?
- Do you have a quote ready just in case they ask to close?
- Are file names accurate?
- Are you prepared to pull out documents or other sales material at a moment’s notice?
- Have you updated all your material?
- Do you have files that are ready to be sent after the meeting?
These may be simple things, but they’re also so easy to overlook.
By keeping these things in order, you can show your prospect your professionalism and dedication to your craft.
3. Meeting Objections
A lot of the prospects you’ll meet are going to object.
It’s just a fact in sales.
But, that’s always an opportunity to build a connection.
So, do you prepare for every single objection?
You can if you want to.
In fact, that would be great.
However, if you did your research correctly, you’ll be able to determine which objections are more likely to come up in a sales meeting and focus on those.
By doing this, you spend your time more efficiently and create answers that lead to opportunities to build rapport.
Also, don’t give generic answers to generic objections.
Always strive to provide personalized answers to what might come up. Regardless, if an objection sounds the same coming from two different prospects, it’s like they both want other solutions that are suited to their situation.
4. Follow Up Emails
Make sure that your emails for after the sales meeting are ready.
Getting a template prepared makes it easier for you to tweak it after a successful (or unsuccessful) meeting and saves you a lot of time along the way.
5. Hold a Practice Session
No matter how good you are, you still need to practice.
Don’t skip out on practice sessions before pitching, especially if it’s high-value client.
You can ask a colleague to critique your approach, no matter how many years you’ve been doing.
There’s always some way for you to improve.
On the plus side, practicing allows you to improve your confidence before going in to the meeting.
6. Prep and Follow Your Sales Meeting Agenda
You need a sales meeting agenda before you even get into your meeting.
Here’s how you can create a sales meeting agenda!
This provides the backbone of what you’ll discuss with your prospect and it helps you with your flow.
It helps if you also integrate this into your practice sessions to check if it works well and then tweak wherever you see fit.
7. Make Sure You Get Your Prospect Ready!
This means confirming the venue and if they’ll be arriving on time, sending them an email to nurture them before you even get into a meeting, and maybe even some retargeting to get them hyped on your brand.
These little things help your prospects get ready and make for more effective sales meeting.
It’s pre-suasion.
You want to convince them that you’re the brand to choose, before you even get into a sales meeting with them.
Takeaways on How to Prepare for a Meeting
Preparation is as important as execution.
That’s why we spend time on practice sessions and research.
All of the hard work in the beginning makes for a far more easier close at the end.
The meeting’s execution is all dependent on the prepartion.
And, you need to be prepared.
Remember, even generating leads is difficult and that’s why you shouldn’t waste any sales meeting that comes along your way!
