How often have you sit at your desk, worrying about the next conversation you are going to have with that “over demanding” customer?  Will it be another opportunity for that customer to have a winge fest?  Will the customer tell me to take a hike?  Will they refuse to pay me for what I have done so far?   At some point or other, if you are running a business, you will come across a situation like this, so how do you get through it?

Preparation is the key, take control of the conversation before you even pick up the phone or walk into their offices.  You decide how the conversation will go, you decided what to talk about and in what order, most importantly you set yourself an objective for the meeting.  What is my ideal outcome for this meeting (what will success look like).  If you are very clear in yourself what you want from the meeting, you have already increased your chances of it being a success, if you have prepared the meeting to reach that outcome, you have increased the chances even more of the outcome being realised.

I would recommend that this approach is taken for every meeting that you have in business, whether that is an internal meeting between you and another in your team or an external meeting between yourself and potential clients, existing clients or your suppliers.

So what are the elements of a well prepared meeting:

• What is the aim of the meeting, what is your ideal outcome?
  • Is the outcome to secure a second meeting?
  • Is the outcome to find a specific solution to an ongoing problem?
  • Is the outcome to get your customer to pay their invoice?
  • Is the outcome to have the customer confirm the sale?
  • Is the outcome of the meeting to discipline your staff member?
• To get that outcome, what specific areas need to be discussed?  There are a number of things you should think of here, depending on the situation, these may include:
  • Ask questions to gather any information you may require to progress the meeting.
  • Address any questions and fears the other party may have (anticipate these and come prepared).
  • If tasks are to be completed by the other party, be specific and include time frames and any other expectations.
  • Agree a course of action going forward with time lines agreeable to both parties
• Ensure you have all the resources in place to follow through on any potential outcomes from that meeting, make sure you can deliver on your promises.

Lets look at an example, you have a call come through from a potential client, they found your web site, they have used a competitors product for a number of years but like the look of what you have to offer, you set up a meeting for the following day.  Your preparation may look something like this:

1. In my industry the sales process can take up to 3 months, my objective for this meeting is to be allowed to present a proposal.
2. To provide a proposal I will need to understand the following
   1. How are the key decision makers within the organisation?
   2. Get them to summarise what it is their business provides?
   3. What was their motivation for using that type of product in the first place?
   4. Is the product still providing a solution to that problem?
   5. Why are they looking to replace or change this solution? (never assume here, it may be obvious but ask the question!)
   6. What level of support do they require further down the line?
   7. Is there any other issues they may have that you can provide a solution for?
   8. What are their time scales for putting any potential solution into place?
3. To ensure the meeting starts off well, improve my knowledge of their business, check their web site, to get a basic understanding of what they do and understand some of their trade terminology.
4. Understand where they are located and ensure I give myself enough time to get there.

In this example the business owner will have an understanding of their potential clients business, will have a basic understanding of their issues but by preparing for the meeting in a bit more detail, they will ensure they have all the information required to provide a comprehensive proposal when the opportunity presents itself.

It does not matter what type of meeting you have (and that includes phone calls) if you prepare before hand, you’re more likely to come out with a favourable result.