Before a meeting

How do you prepare for a meeting with a client you have already met?

To prepare for a meeting with a client you have already met, Muzau sends you a brief by email that same morning, from 7 am. In it you find the date of the last meeting and the link to its notes, what the client said, the promises and where they stand, the number of emails exchanged since, and their latest email if it is waiting for a reply. Every line comes from recorded data. Nothing goes out to the client: you lead the meeting.

Why the second meeting is poorly prepared

Weeks can pass between two meetings with the same client. What they said is in a note, what you promised them is in an email, their last question is somewhere in the inbox. Five minutes before, you dig through three places, or go from memory.

The client remembers what they told you. Making them explain their need again, or discovering in front of them that a promised document never went out, costs you the start of the meeting. The meeting and the relationship stay yours; it is gathering the pieces that the agent takes on.

How the agent goes about it

Input

Today's meeting and the client's record

It does

Gathers what Muzau knows about them, without writing anything

It delivers

A brief from 7 am, by email and in "To do"

The brief arrives the morning of the meeting, to the right salesperson

On the day of a meeting with a client you have already met, from 7 am Paris time, Muzau sends a brief by email and puts it in "To do". This applies to a meeting booked by Muzau as well as to one you noted yourself in Google Calendar or Outlook, if that calendar is connected to Muzau and the client appears in it as an invitee. The brief goes to the salesperson who owns the agent that booked the meeting; for a meeting noted by hand, to the account owner. In the calendar, Muzau reads only the time and the invitees' addresses, never the subject or the location.

What the client said at the last meeting, dated and linked to the note

After a meeting taken down in Granola, what the client said themselves goes on their "Customers met" record: their need, budget, deadline, who decides, their project, their objection. The brief picks up these lines (how they are filed is described in the sales visit report), with the date of the last meeting and the link to its note. When the note has its transcript, a remark is kept only if the client's sentence appears in it word for word. The record starts with that note, or with the recap sent after the meeting; if it is empty, the brief says so plainly: "nothing is noted on their record".

The promises made at the meeting, kept or not

The commitments made during the meeting, by you and by the client, are listed one by one, five at most: send a quote, pass on a document, call back on Monday. For each one, the brief says who promised it, whether it is done and on what date, or whether it is still pending, with its deadline when known. These commitments are picked up from a Granola note that has only one outside participant. A promise is closed when the expected email arrives: Muzau looks at who wrote to whom, not at the content.

The client's last question, still unanswered

The brief counts the emails received from the client and those sent since the last meeting. If their last email has had no reply since, it gives its date, and the subject when known: you know they are waiting for something before you see them again. Exchanges made from your inbox count only if it is connected to Muzau, whether Gmail, Outlook or another mail service; otherwise, the brief says so. No line is written to fill a gap.

Preparing a client follow-up meeting: the checklist to reread

With or without a tool, preparation comes down to a few questions. The aim is not to reread everything, but to arrive knowing where you left off.

• Their words. Reread what the client said themselves: their need, deadline, who decides. Not what you concluded from it.
• Your promises. Has what you were to send gone out? If not, send it beforehand, or say so right at the start.
• Theirs. A document you are waiting for, an answer from their management: you will know what to ask, without putting them in the wrong.
• Their last question. An email left unanswered is settled before the meeting, or raised first.
• What may have changed. A deadline that has passed, a new contact invited, a quote already chased.
• One single goal. The next step you come to propose, and the question that gets you there.

Then open with one of their sentences: "Last time, you told me that...". The client sees they were listened to, and you avoid making them explain their project again. For a first meeting, the preparation is different: see how to arrive prepared with a new client. And to keep your promises even before the brief, see how not to forget what you promised.

What it does not do

• It prepares nothing for a client who has no "Customers met" record yet, as at a first meeting.
• It does not see a meeting that Muzau did not book and that does not appear, with the client as an invitee, in your connected Google Calendar or Outlook.
• It does not count emails exchanged from your inbox as long as Muzau does not pick them up, and the brief tells you so.

Frequently asked questions

When should you prepare for a client meeting, the day before or that morning?

As close to the meeting as possible, to see the client's latest emails: the evening before or that morning. The Muzau brief arrives the morning of the meeting, from 7 am Paris time, by email and in "To do".

Can you prepare client meetings from Google Calendar or Outlook?

Yes, with Muzau, if that calendar is connected, the client appears in it as an invitee and already has a "Customers met" record: the brief goes out in the morning to the account owner. Muzau reads only the time and the invitees' addresses there, never the subject or the location.

How do you find what a client said at the last meeting?

Reread the meeting note and look for their own words: their need, deadline, who decides. When the note is taken in Granola, Muzau puts these remarks on the client's record, dated and linked to the note, and the morning brief picks them up. Without a Granola note, the brief says so: "nothing is noted on their record".

How do you know if a client is still waiting for a reply before seeing them again?

Find their last email and check that nothing has gone back to them since. The Muzau brief does it for you: if their last email went unanswered, it gives its date, and the subject when known. Your own sends count only if Muzau picks up your inbox.

What should you do if you have not sent what you promised a client before seeing them again?

Send what is missing before the meeting if you can. Otherwise, say so right at the start, with the date it will go out: the client will have noticed, and it is better that you bring it up.