There’s nothing worse than smartly moving through a good meeting with a customer where everyone nods their heads, and then the end becomes rushed and disjointed.

Calculating the flow of your in-person (or video) meetings is akin to conducting a symphony: you need to understand how to get the best out of everyone…and you need to time everything.

Managing meetings through tight agendas is the key. You’ll never get to the desired state where buyers are talking and sharing truths unless you strategically plan how you’re gonna get there.

Gone are the days when sellers opened with strategic questions and learned a bit about the customer before hitting "play" on their 32-slide deck.

Now, the customer appears with folded arms and a semi-scowl that reads, "Ok, whadya got?" It’s as though they’ve seen and heard it all. (They have.)

Start your meeting close by offering a general overview of your value prop, and get them talking about how it may or may not address their needs. Only then might you earn permission to go further with open, strategic questions that reveal more about their needs.

If you’re lucky enough to have set the hook, let the fish run. Let the buyer talk. But ALWAYS get out of there early. If it’s a 30-minute meeting, you’re gone at :29.