Preparing for a Meeting
Meeting Preparation Mastery - Complete Prompting Guide
Overview: Walk In Prepared, Walk Out with Progress
The difference between average and top performers? Preparation. Studies show that well-prepared sales reps close 50% more deals. This guide teaches you how to use Colby AI to prepare for any meeting in minutes, not hours, ensuring you walk in confident and walk out with clear next steps.
What You'll Learn:
How to prompt Colby for comprehensive meeting briefs
Techniques for different meeting types (discovery, demo, negotiation)
Advanced preparation strategies that impress prospects
How to anticipate objections and prepare responses
Understanding Colby's Meeting Prep Capabilities
When you ask Colby to prepare you for a meeting, it:
Aggregates Account Intelligence: Pulls all relevant data across Salesforce
Analyzes Interaction History: Reviews all touchpoints and communications
Identifies Key Stakeholders: Maps the buying committee and influencers
Surfaces Relevant Insights: Highlights important changes and triggers
Recommends Strategies: Suggests approaches based on similar successful deals
Prepares Materials: Creates agendas, talk tracks, and question lists
The Complete Meeting Prep Prompt Framework
"Prepare me for [meeting type] with [attendees with titles] at [company] on [date/time].
Meeting Context:
- Stage: [Where we are in sales process]
- History: [Number of previous meetings and key outcomes]
- Purpose: [Specific meeting objectives]
Focus Areas:
- [Key topics to cover]
- [Concerns to address]
- [Goals to achieve]
Background Needed:
- [Specific research requests]
- [Competitive intelligence]
- [Industry insights]
Output Format:
- [Executive summary, detailed brief, talk track, etc.]"
Meeting Prep Examples: From Basic to Brilliant
❌ Poor Prompt:
"Prep for ABC meeting"
Why It Fails:
No context about meeting type
Missing attendee information
No focus areas specified
Results in generic, unhelpful output
✅ Basic Prompt:
"Prepare me for tomorrow's meeting with ABC Corp"
Slightly Better:
Includes timing
Names the company
Still lacks crucial details
✅✅ Good Prompt:
"Prepare me for tomorrow's demo with John Smith (VP Sales) and Sarah Lee (Sales Ops) at ABC Corp. This is our second meeting. Focus on integration capabilities."
Much Better:
Specifies meeting type (demo)
Lists attendees with roles
Provides history context
Includes focus area
✅✅✅ Excellent Prompt:
"Prepare me for tomorrow's 2pm technical demo with ABC Corp.
Attendees:
- John Smith (VP Sales) - Economic buyer, concerned about ROI
- Sarah Lee (Sales Ops Director) - Technical evaluator, worried about integration
- Mike Chen (IT Manager) - Security gatekeeper, needs compliance info
Context:
- This is meeting 3 of 5 in their evaluation process
- They're comparing us to CompetitorX
- Budget approved but timeline is aggressive (want to launch Q1)
Focus Areas:
1. Deep dive on Salesforce integration (Sarah's #1 concern)
2. ROI calculator walkthrough with their actual data
3. Security architecture and compliance certs
4. Implementation timeline and support model
Please provide:
- Executive summary of where we stand
- Anticipated objections with responses
- Demo flow optimized for this audience
- Questions to ask to advance the deal
- Recommended next steps to propose"
Why This Is Outstanding:
Complete attendee profiles with their concerns
Rich context about deal stage and competition
Specific focus areas based on buyer needs
Clear output requirements
Strategic thinking about advancement
Meeting Type Mastery: Optimal Prompts for Each Scenario
1. Discovery Call Preparation
Purpose: Understand their needs and qualify opportunity Goal: Uncover pain, budget, authority, timeline
Master Prompt:
"Prepare me for a discovery call with [Company] tomorrow.
Attendees: [Names and roles]
Company Research Needed:
- Recent news and triggers
- Industry challenges they face
- Technology stack
- Competitive landscape
- Growth trajectory
Prepare These Elements:
1. Company-specific opening statement
2. Discovery question flow (BANT + pain points)
3. Common challenges for similar companies
4. Success stories to reference if relevant
5. Qualification criteria checklist
Industry Context:
- Major trends affecting them
- Regulatory changes
- Competitive pressures
Output:
- 1-page executive brief
- Question bank organized by topic
- Talk track for common scenarios
- Red flags to watch for"
Discovery Question Framework to Request:
"Generate discovery questions for [Company] covering:
- Current state pain points
- Desired future state
- Success criteria
- Budget process
- Decision timeline
- Stakeholder map
- Competition evaluation
- Implementation resources"
2. Demo Preparation
Purpose: Show solution fit for their specific needs Goal: Build confidence in your solution
Master Prompt:
"Prepare me for a product demo with [Company].
Demo Context:
- What triggered their interest: [specific pain/initiative]
- Key use cases they mentioned: [list from discovery]
- Success criteria they defined: [their words]
Attendee Analysis:
[For each attendee]
- Name and role
- What they care about most
- Their technical level
- Potential objections
Demo Flow Needed:
1. Agenda tailored to their priorities
2. Use case scenarios using their data/examples
3. Features to emphasize (and which to skip)
4. Integration points they care about
5. ROI moments to highlight
Competitive Context:
- If they use [Competitor], show migration path
- Advantages to emphasize
- Traps to avoid
Materials to Prepare:
- Customized agenda
- Demo script with their terminology
- Objection handling for likely concerns
- Case study selection
- Follow-up materials list"
3. Negotiation Preparation
Purpose: Reach mutually beneficial agreement Goal: Close deal at optimal terms
Master Prompt:
"Prepare me for pricing/contract negotiation with [Company].
Deal Context:
- Current proposal: [amount and terms]
- Their feedback: [concerns or requests]
- Our floor: [minimum acceptable terms]
- Deal importance: [strategic value]
Negotiation Intelligence:
- Their budget cycle and urgency
- Other vendors they're considering
- Previous purchase patterns
- Power dynamics in buying committee
Prepare Strategies For:
1. Price objections (3 different approaches)
2. Term flexibility options
3. Value reinforcement points
4. Concession strategy (if/then scenarios)
5. Creative deal structures
Risk Assessment:
- What could kill this deal
- Competition status
- Internal champions vs detractors
- Timeline pressure points
Output Needed:
- Negotiation playbook
- Concession matrix
- Value justification points
- Alternative package options
- Walk-away criteria"
4. Quarterly Business Review (QBR) Preparation
Purpose: Strengthen partnership and expand relationship Goal: Renewal + growth opportunities
Master Prompt:
"Prepare comprehensive QBR for [Company].
Account Overview:
- Contract details and renewal date
- Current usage and adoption metrics
- Key stakeholders and changes
- Support ticket history
- NPS/satisfaction scores
Success Metrics:
- ROI achieved vs promised
- Feature adoption rates
- Business outcomes delivered
- Time/cost savings realized
Prepare Analysis Of:
1. What's working well (with data)
2. Underutilized features/opportunities
3. Upcoming needs based on their growth
4. Industry trends affecting them
5. Recommended roadmap for next quarter
Growth Opportunities:
- Expansion possibilities
- Additional use cases
- Other departments to engage
- Upsell/cross-sell options
Risk Mitigation:
- Any red flags in usage data
- Stakeholder changes to address
- Competitive threats
- Renewal risks and mitigation
Output Format:
- Executive presentation deck outline
- Detailed talk track
- Success stories to share
- Recommendation summary
- Action items to propose"
Advanced Meeting Prep Techniques
Technique 1: Stakeholder Mapping
"Create a stakeholder map for [Company] including:
- All contacts involved in our deal
- Their roles in decision process
- Relationships between them
- Individual motivations/concerns
- Influence level (1-10)
- Our relationship strength (1-10)
- Recommended approach for each"
Technique 2: Competitive Battle Cards
"Prepare competitive intelligence for meeting with [Company] who uses [Competitor]:
- Key differences in capability
- Migration talking points
- ROI comparison
- Risk mitigation for switching
- Success stories of similar switches
- Objections they'll raise and responses"
Technique 3: Multi-Threading Strategy
"I'm meeting with [Current Contact] at [Company].
Identify who else I should be talking to:
- Missing stakeholders
- Approach to request introductions
- Value prop for each new contact
- Risk of single-threading
- Email templates for outreach"
Common Meeting Prep Mistakes
Mistake 1: Information Overload
❌ "Tell me everything about ABC Corp" ✅ "Give me the 5 most important things about ABC Corp for tomorrow's pricing discussion"
Mistake 2: Generic Preparation
❌ "Prepare standard demo talk track" ✅ "Prepare demo focused on their stated need for mobile functionality and real-time reporting"
Mistake 3: Ignoring Meeting History
❌ "Prep for meeting with John" ✅ "Prep for meeting 3 with John, building on concerns about integration from meeting 2"
Mistake 4: No Clear Outcome Focus
❌ "Get me ready for the call" ✅ "Prepare me to advance from demo to proof-of-concept stage with clear next steps"
Measuring Meeting Effectiveness
Pre-Meeting Checklist:
Success Metrics:
Meeting-to-advance rate: >75%
Preparation time: <15 minutes
Prospect engagement score
Clear next steps achieved: >90%
Surprise questions: <10%
Pro Tips for Meeting Excellence
The 3x3 Research Rule
The Pre-Meeting Email
The Question Bank
The Objection Matrix
Meeting Prep Practice Scenarios
Scenario 1: The Technical Deep Dive
"Prepare for a technical architecture review with their IT team who are skeptical about cloud security"
Scenario 2: The Executive Briefing
"Prepare for a 30-minute slot with their CEO who only cares about strategic impact"
Scenario 3: The Competitive Shootout
"Prepare for final presentation where we're head-to-head with the incumbent vendor"
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