Was the meeting successful based on GOALS that you had set PRIOR to going in? Are you moving forward? And more importantly, does the Client think so too? If a different kind of meeting took place than you had expected, did you lose control of it or did you pivot and get other valuable things from it that will still progress the opportunity? Always post-mortem your meeting to learn from it and involve the participants from your team to elicit feedback. Be sure to check your ego at the door first.
KNOW if the goal(s) were achieved. Did something else happen that impacted the direction you were taking? What did you miss, if anything? Youe always miss something (after thought) so spend time figuring it for next time. Who has follow-up steps and who has ownership for all of the follow-up? Confirm it and manage it if it is not you.
THINK & ACT. Follow-up is CRITICAL. You have LIMITED TIME so seek clarification or additional information immediately following the meeting – like within 48 hours or less. Reconfirm the NEXT steps? Does your prospect see ALIGNMENT? Do you have clear PERMISSION to proceed or are you still SELLING? Did you fail? What happened? Can you gain INSIGHT?
The biggest mistake that sales people make when they have the meeting is they walk out, pick the one or two highlights, high-five and call it a great meeting. For one thing, everyone wants to report back success to the boss. That’s all fine but a bullshit report now leads to a dead deal later and a sales person with no credibility and no job later. So be honest and critical. Make sure that you know what really happened in there and what you should do to make the most of it.