The Humble Introductory Meeting

It’s not glamorous. In reality, it’s somewhat boring. Most people don’t value it. Sales directors rarely measure it. The number, the quality, and the manner in which the introductory meeting is conducted — all remain overlooked in many organisations.

Yet, the humble introductory meeting is the secret to all sales success.

Why? Because:

• It’s the beginning of all opportunities
• It marks the start of the relationship
• It defines how that relationship will unfold
• It guides the sales journey into discovery, or moves it forward in another way
• And most importantly, it sets up what happens next

Despite this, 95% of companies focus almost entirely on the last 40% of the sales cycle, where deals are maturing, the sales director swoops in, the C-suite wants updates, and revenue gets all the attention. But that’s not where you win.

You win by doing the boring stuff — exceptionally well — and that begins with a solid introductory meeting.

Why Most Sales Teams Get the Intro Meeting Wrong

Small Businesses

Poorly executed introductory meetings are especially damaging in small businesses. They often can’t tell which lead generation channels work. They mistake meeting volume for progress and waste time with low-quality opportunities. Discovery never really happens, and instead of insights, they get… nothing.

In tech companies, it’s even worse, they often jump into demos too quickly, wasting the very first chance to listen and understand.

Medium-Sized Businesses

You’ve grown, but now you’re stuck.

Your sales pipeline is shaky, your best people are overloaded, and your marketing and sales teams aren’t aligned. The introductory meeting is the inflection point, it either sets the foundation for scalable sales, or it reveals why your growth is stalling.

Common issues:

• Still hunting new clients aggressively instead of expanding existing ones
• Brand recognition hasn’t caught up to your size
• Discovery is inconsistent or rushed
• Your sales team lacks bandwidth
• Channels are unclear
• Sales blames marketing, and vice versa

Large Companies

You’ve got brand recognition, but when the market tightens or price sensitivity kicks in, you’re in trouble. That’s when your introductory meeting process determines whether the deal goes to you, or to your cheaper, more focused competitor.

Done well, the process builds trust, clarifies expectations, and aligns stakeholders early. Done poorly, it becomes a leaky funnel where value is misunderstood and trust is never built.

Types of Introductory Meetings

There are three main types, each with their place:

Each type suits different situations, the key is to choose intentionally based on the context and buyer.

Anatomy of a Great Introductory Meeting

Here’s the ideal flow of a successful first meeting:

🧠 1. Research

Take 20–30 minutes before the meeting to research:

• The person
• Their company
• Industry trends
• Shared connections or content

Prepare notes. Use LinkedIn, their website, and recent posts to build context.

🤝 2. Rapport

Start with light rapport. It helps set the tone and builds trust.

Types of rapport:

• Generic: weather, food, travel
• Personal: something from their profile
• Industry: recent events or changes they’d relate to

👋 3. Introduction

Keep your intro brief, 45 seconds to a minute.
Avoid premature pitching. Say who you are, what you do in simple terms, and bridge into asking them about themselves.

❓ 4. Past, Present, Future Questions

This is the heart of the meeting.

Ask:

• What are they doing now?
• What have they tried before?
• Where are they trying to go next?

This structure triggers reflection. It helps them — and you — clarify the real opportunity.

🎯 5. Present

Now, and only now, you can contextualise what you do. Show how you’ve helped similar clients. You can:

• Share a short case study
• Walk through 1–2 slides
• Use a whiteboard/iPad

Keep this short (3–4 minutes). Make it relevant to what you’ve heard.

📝 6. Summarise

Repeat back what you’ve learned. Confirm alignment. Set up what’s next.

This is where salespeople often fail. If you haven’t asked good questions, you’ll have nothing to summarise.

📆 7. Book the Next Meeting

Never leave the first meeting without a next step:

• Another intro meeting with more stakeholders
• A structured discovery session
• Nurture for future re-engagement
• Or, in rare cases, a decision not to continue

✅ Want a tool to track how many introductory meetings your team needs each month?

Use our free Introductory Meetings Calculator to work backwards from your revenue targets and map the volume of meetings required.

Where Introductory Meetings Go Wrong

Even with a solid structure in place, many meetings still underperform. Why?

❌ Common Pitfalls:

• Falling into pitch mode: Talking too much, too soon. It becomes a one-way broadcast.
• Not asking questions: Without open-ended, thoughtful questions, you’ll never understand the buyer.
• No structured process: The conversation meanders. You lose control and miss your window.
• No measurement or review: You don’t know what’s working. No review = no improvement.
• Poor transition to discovery: Discovery is rushed, skipped, or mishandled. The opportunity fizzles.
• No documentation: The meeting ends — and everyone forgets what was said.

These breakdowns are preventable. But only with training, coaching, process, and reflection.

The Benefits of Mastering Introductory Meetings

When you do these meetings well, the benefits ripple through your entire business.

The Real-World Example

A team member was struggling. Their meetings weren’t converting. Upon review, the issue wasn’t skill — it was structure. They spent too long introducing themselves, never got into the Past-Present-Future questions, and rushed the close.

Small change. Big result. Their next three meetings? All moved to discovery.

What You Can Do Right Now

Want to take this further?

We’ve opened up our complete sales training library — for free. Forever.

Yes, really.

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We believe everyone should have access to the right process, no matter your role, team size, or budget.

Next Steps

Want to sharpen your team’s process?

🛠 Try the Introductory Meetings Calculator — an interactive tool that reverse-engineers how many meetings you need to hit your revenue goals.