One Seismic, Trends & Insights
The importance of meeting prep
By Tony Smith — On 17 June 2024
One of the most critical touchpoints in the sales cycle is the meeting. Meetings are where deals are won and lost. They're so important that sellers spend roughly 70% of their time either preparing, presenting, or following up on them.
Meetings are so high-stakes that it becomes easy for sellers to focus on the meeting itself, leaving prep and follow-up as afterthoughts. But, in reality, effective preparation and rigorous follow-up are the foundations upon which great buyer experiences are built.
If you're wondering how you or your team can better prepare for meetings, you're in luck. In this post, we'll share how you can make the most of your time and craft a memorable experience for your buyers and customers.
Understand the buyer and their needs
First things first: a sales meeting isn't primarily about making a sale. It's about developing a relationship with your buyer. It's important to centre your sales meetings around your customers and their needs. While this isn't always possible in an introductory meeting, there are small things you can do to tailor your meetings to your audience. And, over time, you can continue to personalise what you share and when, based on your customer's unique needs.
For an introductory meeting, it's important to do your research. By searching the buyer's website, recent news, and pulling relevant insights about their industry, you can demonstrate a high business acumen. For example, if you're meeting with a prospect from a manufacturing firm, you can start by reviewing their latest earnings report, researching their recent projects, and getting a feel for their competitive landscape.
Conducting this pre-work ensures that you can create a hypothesis for how the meeting will flow. Gathering information on what's worked for similar customers and prospects can help you prepare effectively. Researching your customer's pain points, interests, and objectives will enable you to create a personalised agenda that is relevant to your customer and what they hope to achieve.
