How to prepare for a client meeting so you do not improvise blind

Good improvisation is always well-prepared improvisation.

Maybe you think you improvise well in meetings and invent things as you go. I have bad news. That is not improvisation. That is a lack of preparation, and so far you got away with it.

I have one piece of advice and it is plain. Prepare in advance. Below I explain how.

What to learn about the client before the meeting#

You need to know as much as possible, because each piece of information helps you turn the visit into a deal.

The minimum set you must have

• the company website
• the key numbers that are public
• social media, what they post, what they talk about
• recent news about the company
• which competitor products the client uses
• where the company is going, what it develops
• who it looks up to in the industry

This is not a formality. This is the raw material for a presentation that converts better.

You will not understand everything before the meeting. But this information gives you hypotheses to work with. They show you what hurts first and where the client wants to grow. It is not exact, but you get more than one path. On each path you can present the product in a different way.

A hypothesis about the client, not facts about the client#

Collect the information and build a hypothesis about the client before you talk to them in person.

Here you look for hooks, topics for conversation, the things that can catch this exact person. To collect a pile of information and find no topic in it is the true mistake. Information without hooks is useless.

This material also helps you sell yourself as an expert in a natural way. The client sees that you pay attention and that you noticed the detail.

Then you assume what problems, growth points and priorities the client has. Do not be afraid to be wrong. You build the hypothesis to test it in the meeting, not to show it to the client in triumph.

How the hypothesis changes the presentation#

All further preparation grows from the hypothesis

• how you position the product
• how you present it
• which questions you ask to confirm or break the hypothesis and adjust to the client during the talk

It is good when you have slides for different hypotheses. The client talks about one pain, you show one slide. The client talks about another pain, you show another slide. The presentation is not fixed. You assemble it for the client right in the meeting.

At the start, during small talk, you also qualify the client to understand the pain. Then you tune the presentation by the answers.

This does not mean that you present a different product for each hypothesis. No. The product stays the same. The hypothesis lets you group your approach to it in a different way.

Questions from general to specific#

In the meeting, do not start with a full list of prepared questions. Go as a funnel.

First, general questions about the business, the goals, the current situation. This is a warm-up and a test of your hypothesis.

Then you narrow down to the process that you plan to cover with your product.

At the end come the most exact questions. They close the last gaps before you present the solution.

This funnel works better than a direct question like "what are your problems". Clients often cannot put the problem into one sentence. But when they answer the funnel, they arrive at it together with you.

What to bring#

The physical part of preparation is as important as the mental part.

• questions for the meeting and small talk topics that you prepared from your research
• a laptop with the presentation
• souvenirs or other materials, if you have them
• the contract, filled in on your side, if you expect to sign after the meeting

Everything depends on the next step after the presentation. If it is a contract, have all you need for it with you. If it is an online registration, bring your own internet, whether the client has Wi-Fi or not. Then you can share it from your phone.

Mental preparation#

A separate word about your head.

Stay positive and constructive, whatever happens in the meeting. Keep your chin up.

Checklist before the meeting#

• I studied the website, social media and news of the company
• I collected cases of the client's competitors
• I wrote a hypothesis about the client's pain and priorities
• I found at least one hook topic for conversation
• I prepared questions as a funnel, from general to exact
• I prepared the presentation for different pains
• I took the laptop, the contract (if necessary) and the materials
• I made sure I have internet for an online registration
• I got into a positive mood before I walk in