9/8/2023-Meeting Preparation

Ultimately, your internal meetings are about you, right? Your customers. Your accounts. So that means any prep you apply for your internal meetings will result in value to you.

So you’re feeling capable when it comes to managing customer meetings, eh? Good. Don’t forget to bring that same attention to detail to your prep for internal meetings – especially the ones with your manager and top brass.

Who in marketing is gonna scramble for you when you ring the alarm? Who in your legal department will respond to your email at 8.30 p.m. when you need to get a doc to your customer by 9p?

Sellers who are buttoned up inside the org will get what they need over those who are only good at ringing alarms.

You’re correct, you don’t need to bring the same gusto to your prep for internal meetings as you do for your customer pitch meetings.

But…that doesn’t mean you can go to sleep on your prep for your meetings with your enablement team, your account personnel, your service department, etc.

Today, over-index on the internal prep thing: blow your peers away by coming to your internal meetings equipped with more. More info, more research, and more proactive thinking than you have in past.

For every minute you dedicate to preparation, you’ll receive 68.34 minutes of value in return.

Okay, you’re right…that’s a BS stat that was made up on the fly, but the point remains: a little prep goes a long way.

You have numerous clients, not just external but internal too. The folks who work to support your front-line efforts deserve your best, and thus, you’re paying them gratitude and helping yourself by properly preparing for your meetings with them.

Ultimately, your internal meetings are about you, right? Your customers. Your accounts. So that means any prep you apply for your internal meetings will result in value to you.

In those instances when you did not have the chance to prepare, do NOT announce you’re "running from meeting to meeting, which is why you forgot to do X." As you can appreciate, that’s a tad disrespectful to those in the meeting.

Your prep should ask yourself, "What do I want from this internal meeting?" And, "What must I do to present a strong case to achieve my goals?" From there, the prep tasks will flow like water!

Meetings, meetings, meetings. Can’t live without ’em…pass the butter!

You love client pitch meetings – the adrenaline gets goin’ and the performer in you emerges. The smell of money is always in the air, and it gets your juices flowing.

But internal meetings? Umm…not so much.

In this 3-minute clip from the movie Liar, Liar, Jim Carey presents a certain approach (ahem) that might work for you…but probably not!

Speaking the truth in your meetings is important, and being prepared and ready to contribute is important, too.