This post is a follow-up from Kevin’s post, “There’s No H In My Name”

It’s game day! You finally scheduled the meeting you wanted with that important prospect, and you’re feeling good about your chances at making the sale. Now you have to guarantee your appointment will shine. How? If you can answer these 20 questions satisfactorily, you are prepared to make the sale.

1. Have I done my research ahead of time?
2. What have I learned about this prospect?
3. Have I developed an internal advocate at the prospect’s place of business and what have they told me?
4. Who am I competing against for the business?
5. What do I know about my competition’s strengths and weaknesses?
6. What are my products’ strengths and weaknesses?
7. What is the buying cycle of my prospect?
8. What are their budget constraints?
9. What are the prospect’s previous buying habits?
10. What problems can I solve for the prospect?
11. How receptive is this prospect to new ideas?
12. Who am I meeting and how do I pronounce their name(s)?
13. Who else makes up the prospect’s internal support team? (Buffer? User? Internal Advocate? Check Writer?)
14. What position(s) do they hold within the company?
15. Have I confirmed the appointment?
16. Do I know how to get to the appointment location and how long it takes? Did I pack the directions? Did I build in an extra 20% worth of travel time?
17. Do I have everything I need for the appointment? (Relevant documents, pens, paper, brochures, business cards, calculator, testimonial letters, etc.)
18. Did I prepare questions in advance and do I have them with me?
19. Am I mentally prepared for the meeting? (Is my focus 100% on the meeting or is it elsewhere?)
20. Am I physically prepared for the appointment? (Clothes neat? Hair combed? Shoes shined?

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