How to Set Up Client Meetings for Success

Effective client management begins with proactive engagement, anticipating needs and potential hurdles. Mastering the art of listening plays a crucial role in this approach, allowing us to gain deep insights into our clients' operations and strategic objectives. Imagine setting the stage at the beginning of a project by discussing with your client: Dependency Exploration: 'Can we discuss any dependencies your team has on this project’s milestones? Understanding these can help us ensure alignment and timely delivery.' Impact Assessment Question: 'Should unforeseen delays occur, what impacts would be most critical to your operations? This will help us prioritize our project management and contingency strategies.' Preventive Planning Query: 'What preemptive steps can we take together to minimize potential disruptions to critical milestones?' Success Criteria Definition: 'How do you define success for this project? Understanding your criteria for success will guide our efforts and help us focus on achieving the specific outcomes you expect.' These discussions are essential for building a roadmap that not only aligns with the client’s expectations but also prepares both sides for potential challenges, reinforcing trust through transparency and commitment. By adopting a listening approach that seeks comprehensive understanding from the onset, we can better manage projects and enhance client satisfaction. Let’s encourage our teams to integrate these listening strategies into their initial client engagements. How have proactive discussions influenced your project outcomes? Share your experiences and insights. #ClientRelationships #AdvancedListening #BusinessStrategy #ProfessionalGrowth

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆? It’s not the demo. It’s not the renewal. It’s not even the cold call. It’s the 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹. This is the moment where your client’s belief in your product is either validated… or tested. 🚀 If you deliver value or even a small win early, their belief in you goes up. 💔 If you ask for too much effort and the patch to value is unclear, their belief is tested. 👉 Belief drives action 👈 As soon as your clients stops believing you can help them, they stop taking action.. So... here’s how to run a Kickoff Call that builds confidence and drives momentum: 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 This process starts before the kickoff call. The sales rep closing the deal needs to hype up the CSM. It can sound something like this: "𝘏𝘦𝘺 [𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵], 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘺𝘢𝘯. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 200 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵." This simple step helps transfer the trust and authority built in the sales rep to the CSM as they take over. 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Once you're on the kickoff call, make sure you; 1. Start with an 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 to position yourself as the expert. 2, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 by reviewing what was shared during the sales process. 3. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 by providing a high-level overview of the onboarding process. Keep it clear and simple so they understand the journey without feeling overwhelmed. 4. 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 by identifying what is needed for implementation, both from your side and theirs, to ensure a smooth process. 5. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Make sure to highlight responsibilities, timelines, and who will be involved at each step. 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟯: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 Now, it’s time for quick wins. Get something—anything—done early. It could be as small as exchanging logins or getting them into the system. Then, book a meeting from a meeting. Confirm the next steps and schedule the next call to keep the momentum rolling. There you have it: a Kickoff Call that sets you up for success. Want the full breakdown? Check out my YT video: https://t2m.io/LW2Jbrw9 Or DM/comment "KICKOFF" and I’ll send over our Customer Success Kickoff Call SOP + a rubric to audit your calls. Let’s go! 🚀

86% of my new clients hate meetings. And I don’t blame them. They’re terrible. So they start out either: Not having them (bad) OR Dreading them (possibly worse) But the thing I always find is It’s not the meetings’ fault. It’s how they’re run. Starting late, running over, Could’ve been an email, Chasing every squirrel in sight. It’s like they want people to hate them. These are 9 wins I always use To make meetings high value: 1. Start on time ↳ I don’t care if people aren’t there yet. ↳ Share the expectation and enforce it. 2. End on time ↳ I don’t care if you’re not done yet. ↳ Enforcing this will help time management. 3. Bring purpose ↳ Set the goal early. ↳ Focus on decisions. 4. Keep it moving ↳ Set and agenda and stick to it. ↳ Note the follow up items for later. 5. Meet consistently ↳ If it’s optional, people won’t care. ↳ Consistency turns it into a pulse. 6. Welcome input ↳ Involved people care more. ↳ Better solutions need different views. 7. Leave people better ↳ Surface blockers and clear them. ↳ Respect people’s time. 8. Keep it focused ↳ Just long enough to finish the work. ↳ Focus on solutions, not just problems. 9. End with clear next steps ↳ Everyone knows the next move. ↳ Zero uncertainty. You don’t need fewer meetings, You need better ones. Anyone can start using these tomorrow, And see the impact in a week. How do you keep meetings valuable? Let me know in the comments. ♻️ Repost to help your network. ➕ Follow Sam Krempl for more posts like this.