Preparing for Client Meetings

The nuances behind a presentation - Having done hundreds of presentations myself, here is some advice to young generation for the " Art and science of presentation " - 1. Always ask the client how much time you have for the presentation, if you are not aware 2. ⁠Time your talk accordingly 3. ⁠Never stand up to do a presentation, unless u need to explain something on the screen. Standing means you are showing yourself as inferior to the client 4. ⁠Never read out what is already written in the slide. Talk what is not written 5. ⁠Never overlap when someone is talking 6. ⁠Smile with confidence. 7. ⁠ Do not feel nervous 8. ⁠ Do not overcommit. 9. ⁠ Do not exaggerate facts and figures. Be honest. 10. ⁠Don’t say yes to everything. You need not agree to everything that client is saying 10. ⁠Talk firmly , not low - not loud 11. ⁠ Build a rapport with client. Everything need not revolve around project in the discussion. You can talk on other subjects like weather, current news etc etc 12. ⁠Never talk on religious matters. It becomes tricky at times 13. ⁠never talk negative about you competition. Clients will judge you on that. 14. Dress appropriately. You don't really need to be suited. A genuine client looks for your ability to handle his project. Other things are secondary. 15. ⁠Firm shake hand and eye contact are a must 16. ⁠Keep ur phone on silent during the entire presentation. 17. ⁠ If you are noting down points on your laptop or phone, let the client know. Else he feels that you are not paying attention to him 18. Post the presentation, do not discuss about the presentation or Client, when you use the washroom or the elevator, either your competitor or the client himself can be present there. 19. When you come out of the presentation and if you happen to meet your competitor outside in the reception, do reach out to them and greet them and wish them luck. It helps to build bonds. 20. ⁠Talk in the language that you are comfortable in 21. ⁠If you made a mistake in presenting something, and if the client confronts, accept it rather than covering up  22. Keep a copy of the presentation on cloud or pen drive for worst case scenario of laptop failing past moment 23. ⁠Laptop should always be having enough battery. Charging the laptop halfway through in a presentation, disturbs the flow and mood. 24. Try and study the company before you go for the presentation 25. ⁠Try and find out about the person you are going to meet before the presentation 26. ⁠Adjust your chair height and arms to your comfort as the first thing. If you are not comfortable, you can never appear comfortable ‎

The best presenters place little faith on communication skills. They rely on anticipation and rehearsals. The ability to anticipate audience reactions, and having a plan for each scenario, is the hallmark of a great presenter.   In management consulting, younger professionals spend most of their time fine-tuning analysis and crafting narratives. Older professionals spend disproportionate time anticipating reactions of participating stakeholders and having a plan for each scenario.   Over time, I have learnt five steps:   1. Align the agenda:   Nothing destroys a presentation faster than misaligned expectations. I remember a 90-minute Board presentation, which seemed to be going well, when at the end an influential stakeholder expressed disappointment that his expectations were not met. Weeks of preparation went down the drain.   Never start a meeting without aligning the agenda and setting expectations with key stakeholders.   2. Anticipate the worst scenario(s) and have a plan:   What happens if the client(s) challenges the data? Be ready to describe the provenance of the data and what checks and triangulations have been made.   What happens if the client(s) opposes the insights? Be ready to call out assumptions and what steps can be taken to further validate the analysis.   If you are prepared for the worst scenario, every other scenario is an upside.   3. Think through how each message may impact the current and future position of each stakeholder:   In most situations, analysis, insights, and recommendations are not opposed because they are wrong but because they impact a particular stakeholder negatively. It is critical to anticipate how a presentation may impact a stakeholder’s position and plans and factor it in the communication.   If the messages are against a stakeholder’s position or plans, prepare to address the backlash.   4. Align, align, align:   Counter-intuitively, the most successful presentations are boring. This is because the participants have been aligned in the background and debates have been settled before the actual meeting starts. In fact, if the actual meeting seems like a boring rubber-stamping event, you have done your job well.   Younger professionals spend most of their time on analysis and storyboarding and hope to be the star of the show. Experienced professionals spend inordinate time syndicating with stakeholders and building alignment, and hope the show is a non-event.   5. Prepare for last minute changes to the meeting structure:   What are the core messages that must be communicated if the time available for the meeting is significantly shortened?   How will the presentation structure change if there is a last-minute change in participants?   What happens if you can’t connect to the screen in the client’s Board room or your colleague cannot join because of a bad internet connection?   Do not prepare assuming one scenario. Prepare for a set of likely scenarios.   Opinions are personal.    

I've spent 10 years perfecting the art of discovery calls: - reviewed over 2,500 discovery recordings - analyzed millions of discovery calls with AI - personally run (estimated) 3,000 disco calls Here's 5 of my best discovery call tips for 2023: 1. Discovery is a process. Not an event. It’s not a STAGE during the sales cycle. It’s a process. Your buyer’s situation is in flux. If you do “set it and forget it” discovery, you lose. Bad salespeople treat discovery as “check the box." They "front load" discovery. Great salespeople do continuous discovery. Don't set it and forget it. 2. The best discovery CREATES value. It makes buyers THINK. "Most" discovery CONSUMES value. It merely gathers info. Yes, you need to uncover things. But if that's ALL you do? You build a transactional relationship. Don't settle for transactional. Settle for transformative. - challenge your buyer - diagnose the cause of issues - make them consider new angles $500k+ earners do that. 3. Uncover the 'need behind the need.' For whatever reason: Most buyers share surface-level info. I'm not sure why. I suspect it's just how humans crystallize thoughts. Try asking this: "Thanks for sharing that. Do you mind if I ask what's going on in your business that's driving that to be a priority to begin with?" Or, ask them to take you back in time. Your buyer once had a meeting with colleagues to discuss the issue they're trying to solve. That triggered them to reach out to you (among other actions). Ask them about that: "I have to assume you had a meeting with colleagues where you discussed the issue, and agreed to act on it. What did that meeting sound like?" There's gold behind that question. 4. Re-validate everything. Never assume that what you uncovered remains true. Priorities change. Buyers’ needs are transient. When things change, you’d better know. If you followed the last tip, you’ll uncover priorities. But if you treat discovery as “set it and forget it," you’ll miss. Here’s how to re-validate: Start every follow up sales meeting with this: "What’s changed since the last time we talked?" 5. Phrase questions to get LONG answers Hate it when buyers answer with one-word responses? It sucks. According to data, successful salespeople get LONG answers to questions. Here’s how: SIGNAL to your buyer that you want a long response. Do that by phrasing your questions the right way. Start your question with one of these phrases: - help me understand... - walk me through... - talk to me about... This phrasing signals that you want your buyer to answer in depth. You’ll get richer answers. I'm out of space. If you want more, let me know? Until then, know this: Questions are the most powerful tool you have to sell. I spent 10 years collecting the best sales questions in a Google Doc. I tested them. I refined them. Now you can use them. Here's the mega list sales questions: https://lnkd.in/g-VRcCsq

Discovery calls often go wrong for a few reasons, but in almost all of the hundreds upon hundreds I've heard, it goes south with the first business-related question we ask. It starts with a narrow question. "My BDR said the incumbent has this product issue?" "Tell me a bit about what interested you in today's call." "I see you operate in 20 cities? And you're opening another office?" "So, I know single sign on is a big thing you wanted, right?" Those questions lead to either more narrow questions or replies that focus on product issues. What we're looking for is to identify company challenges, larger pain points ...NOT product issues. So, how to do it? After you've done your rapport building (you're rapport building, right? and it's not about the weather, right? 😏), use this script: "So, I could tell you a million things about #samsales (insert three pillars of your work here that's related to the buyer)...about our Show Me You Know Me #SMYKM trainings, how we teach discovery calls, or how we build brands for leaders on LI, but I'd love to hear from you first (insights, what you learned from your BDR to show the notes conveyed - quick hits) - I read up on my team's notes from your first call, saw you're going through an acquisition, and read a bit about your recent raise, but tell me about your team, challenges, what's the overall landscape like on your side, if that's okay?" Super broad Gives them time to think Shows them you did your homework Asks for permission of how they want to run the call What you'll get the majority of the time? A deep sigh followed by an unloading of information that tells you their exact business (not product) challenges, and let's you dig in/qualify/learn everything you can about how you can help their business, not the product issues. Best part? You'll skip demo'ing and slides on the first call, you'll story tell through out, and you'll earn the right to multi-thread immediately on the second call. Want more? We're dissecting a recorded call on Friday @ 12pmET - come join us as we walk through our idea of a perfect framework and then breakdown a call from one brave AE @ Insightly - Modern CRM 🧡! You know were to find the details to join us!

I hired a sales coach last month. First session, he asked to observe my discovery call. I was confident: - I had my 27 discovery questions ready - My demo was perfectly polished - My objection-handling guide was open The call started well. But 10 minutes in, the coach passed me a note: "STOP TALKING." I was confused, but I paused. The prospect filled the silence: "Actually, what I'm really struggling with is getting various stakeholders aligned. We keep having the same conversations over and over." This wasn't on my script. After the call, the coach explained: "Your discovery process is all about YOU getting information. Not about helping THEM discover their own problems." This hit me hard. I had been: - Asking questions to fill MY knowledge gaps - Taking notes to build MY sales strategy - Following MY playbook regardless of their responses The next discovery call, I tried something different: Instead of firing questions, I created a collaborative digital space where the prospect could: - Map out their own buying committee - Prioritize their challenges visually - Document their questions in real-time - Outline what success would look like to each stakeholder The call took half the time. The prospect did most of the talking. And they left with clarity they didn't have before. They signed 3 weeks later. What changed? Old discovery: Interrogation disguised as conversation New discovery: Collaborative problem-solving Your prospects don't need your questions. They need clarity. And often, they'll sell themselves if you just create the right space. Agree?

Here's why most discovery calls FAIL… It's not what you ASK. It's what you QUANTIFY. "What challenges are you facing?" = 20% close rate "What are the ripple effects on the business when your team misses revenue targets by 20%?” = 80% close rate Do the math. One approach leaves you with DEAD deals. The other puts MONEY in your pocket. I've run 10,000+ discovery calls and here's what I’ve found: Most reps are allergic to quantifying pain. They ask surface-level questions. They accept vague answers. They fail to go DEEP. Here's my battle-tested formula to 3X your discovery call effectiveness: 1️⃣SEEK PAIN FIRST Humans are driven by pain or pleasure. Guess which drives more action? Pain wins. Every. Single. Time. 2️⃣GO 10 LEVELS DEEP Don't accept the first answer. Use follow-ups like: "Can you give me a specific example?" "How exactly did that affect your team?" "Tell me more about that..." You're peeling an onion. Each layer reveals MORE PAIN. 3️⃣QUANTIFY EVERYTHING "This is frustrating" = weak "This is costing us $250K monthly" = POWERFUL When it's THEIR numbers, it becomes REAL. 4️⃣TRIGGER EMOTIONS B2B is still H2H (human to human). "How has this made you feel personally?" "What was your boss's reaction when this happened?" Emotions drive decisions. Logic justifies them. 5️⃣EXPAND THE IMPACT Most prospects haven't considered the FULL cost of inaction. Ask: "What happens if a year passes and this problem remains?" Their answer will terrify them more than you ever could. 6️⃣MULTI-THREAD THE PAIN "Who else is affected by this problem?" "How is your team's performance measured on this?" Pain that affects MULTIPLE stakeholders creates URGENT deals. 7️⃣DON'T PITCH (YET) The moment you uncover serious pain, you'll want to pitch. RESIST. KEEP DIGGING. The deeper they feel understood, the less you'll need to sell later. 8️⃣USE A DELIBERATE SEQUENCE Random questions = random results. Strategic sequence = predictable urgency. Here's my exact pain sequence that's closed $15M+ in deals: "How long have you been dealing with this?" "What have you tried so far?" "Why hasn't it worked?" "What metric is most impacted?" "Where is it now vs. where you need it to be?" "How has this affected YOU personally?" "Who else is feeling this pain?" "What happens if this continues for another year?" This isn't theory. This is 15 years of trench warfare from selling SMB through the Enterprise. When I switched from asking WHAT to asking HOW MUCH, my close rate jumped from 22% to 78%. Want even more Discovery training? Go here: https://lnkd.in/g2-Dw_jp

Every single sales team I have ever evaluated has their lowest score on the closing competency.    This really boils down to really crappy proposal meetings and sales pitches.    First we should never be doing a discovery meeting and a proposal meeting at the same time.     If a sales person does split their discovery and proposal meeting, they usually show up with a boiler plate deck completely focused on why the company is so great.    They present every single capability that the prospect doesn't care about, so somewhere within the first 5 minutes the deal is lost.    Here are five things I teach my clients to do when presenting a proposal:    1) Customized each proposal to the client.     2) Start with an objectives slide.     This should be the 3-5 problems you extracted from the discovery call.    After presenting this slide, ask the client if you captured their needs.    It's pretty amazing to see how prospects lean in immediately because you have summarized their challenges so well.    This is a sign you have them hooked.    3) Connect each problem the client has with one of your solutions.    You could sell a 250K piece of equipment that has 100 different "cool" things    The only cool things that matter are the ones that solve the prospects problems.    Only share a maximum of five solutions.    4) Add in a maximum of two slide about your company.    This should be your company's unique value proposition    5) Drop in a testimonial or two that is relevant to that prospect    Always have a strong testimonial on the slide right before you share the pricing    The key to deliver flawless pitches and improving your close rate is about stepping into the prospects world.    I can guarantee you if you follow only one of these steps you with see your close rate increase by a few percent.    If you follow them all you can easily double your close rate    You will realize the problem with your proposal meeting is you don't actually have the information you need to properly present your solution to your client.    And you need to go back and do real discovery meeting to extract the prospects challenges.    Closing starts at the beginning of your sales process, not the end.     #wesleynewisdom 

Here's how I open a discovery call with an outbound-originated opp. "Mind If I share what I learned about your business, before we start talking about mine? I don’t want to assume I have all of the correct answers, simply because I researched COMPANY before this call. It looks like COMPANY sells a PRODUCT/SERVICE to STAKEHOLDER ROLES at CUSTOMER VERTICALS/TYPES. It seems like the problem you're solving for those customers is X and the company makes money by XYZ. What did I get wrong?” Here's why I do it this way: 1. 82% of B2B decision-makers think sellers are unprepared during the 1st meeting (source: Gartner). The tone changes when they realize you're not part of that 82%. The reaction I usually get is, "Thank you for taking the time to learn about our business. Most sellers don't". Anyone can do this. It takes 2 mins to prompt ChatGPT for these answers. The bar is low. 2. Most disco calls are 30 mins. I hate wasting my time. I hate wasting my buyer's time. There's 0 reason for them to spend 7 mins educating me on something I could've easily researched beforehand. This frees up more time for the good stuff. 3. The "what did I get wrong" close invites correction. Correction = discovery. It sets the tone that we're not a know-it-all. Know-it-all reps sound naive. From here, it's an easy transition into "I don't work within your 4 walls, but it sounds like your CEO is asking the business to....". Get discovery builds trust by helping prospects think differently about their business problems, before we ask them to think differently about our solutions. To do that, we need to show them we have context on their business. Here's how I gauge my disco calls: Is the conversation so valuable that they'd be willing to pay for that conversation by the time we hang up?

Discovery calls used to feel like awkward sales pitches. Now they feel like coffee chats. The difference? Two simple words. Instead of explaining all the benefits... Instead of launching into my services... Instead of trying to convince someone to buy... I started asking: "Tell me..." Tell me about what you're working on... Tell me about your challenges... Tell me about your goals... The transformation was immediate: - Conversations flowed naturally - Real problems surfaced - Trust built rapidly Because when someone feels heard, they're more likely to listen. When they feel understood, they're more likely to trust. When they trust you, they're more likely to buy. Your best sales tool isn't your pitch. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆. ___ PS. People are tired of being pitched to on LinkedIn—it’s everywhere. Asking real questions? But leading with curiosity? Offering value with no strings attached? That stands out. That builds trust. And trust leads to opportunities you never saw coming. This keeps it conversational, sharp, and leaves the reader with a sense of possibility. What do you think?

Prospects aren’t targets. They’re humans. Humans respond best when they feel understood, not convinced. The best salespeople know how to make others feel heard. When you ask a question, then another question, then another unrelated question, discovery calls can feel like interrogations. If you don’t listen and instead rapid-fire scripted questions, it feels like you’re not genuinely interested in the response but rather focused solely on your agenda of quantifying pain so you justify your solution. If people don’t feel understood, they’re not going to trust what you recommend. The way out? Ask fewer questions on discovery calls. Go deeper. Like a therapist: “What’s on your mind?” (Inbound.) “How's it going?” Mute. (Digging deeper) “Afraid to dial?” (Digging deeper) “It’s like the phone is a cactus.” Mute. (Digging deeper) “What else?” Mute. “There are so many sales trainers. What prompted you to call us?” “What's the real challenge?” (Digging deeper.) “What's your perspective on why that is?” “If you're looking back 6 months from now, what has to have happened for you to feel really happy with your progress?” (Digging deeper.) “How so?” Don't ask a digging deeper question if you're not curious about the answer. When people feel understood, you build trust. And in a world of similar products, trust is why people choose you. Seller’s don’t have the answers. Buyers do. The seller’s job is to draw them out. Learn the gentle art of making others feel understood here: https://lnkd.in/eVfUevmz