How to Improve First Sales Meetings

Editor’s note: This post was originally written in 2016 and draws on Dave Govan’s direct experience attending thousands of B2B sales meetings across his career. The core principles around prospect-centric communication, relevance, and interactive dialogue are more applicable today than ever — particularly as AI-enabled buyers do more independent research before engaging sellers, raising the bar for every first meeting.

The above Word Cloud shows the answers B2B Buyers provided when asked for a one word description of Sellers. However, scientific research reveals techniques that can help minimize the “yuck” and maximize the “essential.”

My time spent in B2B tech sales afforded me the opportunity to attend literally thousands of initial sales meetings with Prospects. As a CEO and former Chief Revenue Officer, I’ve also been a buyer of technology and services — sitting on the other side of the desk as a Prospect. In both cases I’ve experienced initial sales meetings that go very well and ones that do not. The ones that don’t go well are sometimes due to gaps between the Prospect’s requirements and the Seller’s offering. However, too many times failure is the result of ineffective two-way communication on the part of the Seller.

The Two Most Common First Sales Meeting Failures

Issue A: Failure to provide the information Prospects want in the first sales meeting.

Issue B: Failure to communicate in ways that form a connection and hold the attention of Prospects to increase their interest and drive deeper engagement.

What Prospects Want from a First Sales Meeting

Most sincere Prospects want plain-speak answers to five core assessment questions:

1. Functionality: What does your offering do? What can it accomplish for them?
2. Value: How will your offering add incremental value within their specific organization? What is the perceived financial return and how long will it take?
3. Differentiation: How does your offering differ from competitors and why should they buy it versus other choices?
4. Cost: General pricing to determine if it is worth investing additional time exploring your offering.
5. Risk: How credible and reliable are the Seller and the Company — now and after the sale? Are there other companies in their vertical using the product?

What Neuroscience Tells Us About Holding Attention

It has been proven that when a communicator engages a listener in an interactive way and shares an engaging story, a process called Neural Coupling occurs and more areas of the brain are activated.

According to Neuroscientists Greg J. Stephens, Lauren J. Silbert, and Uri Hasson, only when a listener comprehends and “participates” in a story — without their mind wandering — will neural coupling occur between speaker and listener, where both parties’ brains mirror each other: “…interacting individuals are dynamically coupled rather than simply aligned.”

In practical terms: interactive, story-driven conversations have been scientifically proven to be more effective at winning attention and building trust than one-way sales pitches.

First Sales Meeting Pitfalls to Avoid

• Talking at the Prospect instead of leading a two-way interactive discussion
• Delivering lengthy slide presentations in a first call
• Discussing use cases that lack relevance to the Prospect’s industry or situation
• Failing to explain how your offering differs from competitors
• Sidestepping questions or failing to answer them clearly
• Using a one-size-fits-all pitch deck without customization
• Spending too much time on company history, founder bios, or the problem statement

How to Improve First Sales Meeting Success

1. Become highly proficient at communicating through short, compelling stories about how your offering came about, how it differs from competitors, and how it is delivering value for similar companies.
2. Before the meeting, research the Prospect’s company, role, and relevant industry trends — then tailor your conversation accordingly.
3. Lead an interactive two-way conversation. Listen to identify what the Prospect most wants to know, then answer those questions through brief stories rather than a general pitch.
4. Show use cases relevant to their specific business and ask if they resonate — or if the Prospect sees other potential applications.
5. Include qualification questions naturally throughout the conversation.
6. If qualified, close on clear, mutually agreed next steps.

Dave Govan is the Founder and CEO of G2 Strategic Advisory Services, where he helps B2B technology companies improve sales execution, GTM strategy, and AI adoption. Learn more about G2SAS’s Sales Process Advisory services or schedule a brief conversation.