Ian Altman discusses the biggest blind spot in sales meetings: lack of preparation. He emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals aligned with the client's needs rather than unrealistic expectations. Altman advises salespeople to identify what clients need to believe to achieve their goals and to prepare for different meeting scenarios (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Role-playing these scenarios with different team members helps salespeople practice and improve their ability to handle various outcomes effectively. He concludes that thorough planning and realistic expectations lead to better client meeting outcomes.

Biggest Mistakes

• Not having any planning whatsoever for the meeting.
• Having unrealistic expectations for the meeting outcome.
• Not thinking through the logistics of the meeting from the client's perspective.
• Coming to a meeting with no expectations.

Best Practices

• Set realistic expectations for the meeting that focus on solving the client's needs.
• Determine what the client needs to believe for the desired outcome to happen.
• Prepare questions to ask the client to confirm if they believe what you need them to believe.
• Plan for three possible scenarios: good, bad, and ugly.
• Role-play each scenario with a team (salesperson, customer, and observer).