3 Ways to Prevent Meeting Disasters Before They Happen

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You spend weeks chasing the meeting. You finally get your shot. You walk into the room, ready to impress.

And then, the little things start to unravel.

Your laptop won’t connect to the screen. The Wi-Fi is down. Someone forgot the printouts. Your teammate is stuck in the lobby, arguing with security about a visitor badge.

You feel the energy shift literally right in front of you. The customer’s attention drifts. Suddenly, you’re not pitching your product-you’re scrambling to recover.

Most teams don’t lose deals because their solution isn’t good enough. They lose because they let the small, preventable details slip through the cracks. The result? They look unprepared. They lose trust before they even get to the pitch.

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If you want to win more business, you have to master the details. Because in high-stakes meetings, the little things aren’t little-they’re everything. One missed detail, one tech fail, one awkward handoff—and just like that, you’ve lost the room.

This edition is your insurance policy. Let’s prevent the preventable.

We’re breaking down how pros de-risk every inch of a customer meeting so they walk in calm, confident, and completely unshakable.

If you’re still winging logistics or hoping your deck works, you’re playing the wrong game. Let’s make sure you never lose the room before you even start talking.

Let’s dance.

Turn Proactive

When you fumble with technology, scramble for missing materials, or whisper about who’s supposed to answer which question, you send a message-loud and clear. You’re telling your customer that you didn’t think this meeting was important enough to prepare for.

You’re showing them that you’re reactive, not proactive.

It doesn’t matter how good your solution is if you can’t get through the first ten minutes without a hitch. Customers remember how you made them feel. If you make them feel like their time is being wasted or that you’re not in control, you’ve already lost ground.

Preparation is more than just a checklist. It’s a signal. It tells your customer, “We value you. We’re reliable. You can trust us.” In a world where everyone claims to be the best, being the most prepared is a real differentiator.

Become Reliable

Think about where the meeting is. Can you do it at a neutral location? Can that alleviate a lot of additional headaches to try to get on-site to the customer? Would you even have wi-fi (and access to it), should you print slides out?

Preparation signals reliability. It tells your customer, “We’ve done this before. We know what we’re doing. You can count on us.” That kind of confidence is contagious. When you’re calm and collected, your customer relaxes. They stop worrying about what might go wrong and start listening to what you have to say.

Customers are looking for partners who won’t let them down when it matters most.

We spoke about being reliable in past newsletters here:

Why Relationship Selling Crushes Transactional Selling in the Age of AI 

Do the Little Things Right...Stop Cutting Corners 

Time to Target – Improve Your Initial Customer Engagement Rates  

Don’t Leave Anything to Chance

Here’s an example. I had a meeting with a government agency here in Washington, DC, a few weeks ago. There was a process that I went through to get onto base, which included security form clearances, parking validations, escorts, email confirmations, phone calls, and early arrivals.

The slightest traffic delay could have set me back significantly, and I could have missed my way into the meeting. The slightest delay in technology could have set back the availability of those attending as well (as some only had 30 minutes to be there).

Don’t leave any of it to chance.

Do a Dry Run - Start to Finish

Own the experience and eliminate as much friction as possible. Do a dry run.

Do a specific test run of everything you do from leaving your door in the morning to getting to the customer meeting. Walk through each step exactly (e.g., I’m going to be in 45 minutes of traffic, 5 minutes to park, 5 minutes to get to the office, 15 minutes to set up the presentation, etc.). Run it through specifically with your whole team.

• If you think you’ll have a tech glitch, assign a countermeasure during the dry run

• Have backup copies of any specific items that need to be printed (and how many)

• Know who is going to do what and when, ensuring any seamless transitions

Pack Some Additional Punch

Here are a few tips to really hit it out of the park:

1. Conferences are great places for meetings

2. Can’t find parking? Uber. Ride share with a coworker. Work together here

3. Due to security restrictions, some places won’t let you connect anywhere, so just send your slides ahead of time

What the Internet Taught Me This Week

From new tools, recent trends, and market updates, here is what has been on my mind.

1. Federal Agency monitoring is in. Agencies must have 60% building utilization rates. Check it out here

2. Pipedrive surveyed 500 businesses on what they use AI for. Here is their report

3. A VIP Seat at the Trump Crypto Dinner could set you back a few G’s. Check it out here

It’s not the big blunders that kill your credibility.

It’s the tiny, stupid stuff.

That tiny, stupid stuff stays on your mind, too.

Winning in business isn’t about luck or flashy presentations. It’s about showing up prepared, every single time. The teams that stand out are the ones who never let small details derail big opportunities. They don’t scramble. They don’t make excuses. They anticipate, adapt, and deliver.

Most teams don’t lose because their product is bad. They lose because they didn’t prevent the preventable.

Don’t let the little things trip you up. Make preparation your edge. Because in the end, the teams that win are the ones who leave nothing to chance.

Details matter. Logistics matter. Preparation matters.

See you next week.

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