Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Successful First Prospect Meeting

Regardless of the product or service, any good salesperson will tell you that a strong process is key to earning new business. With these four steps, you can master benefits Meeting 1—and land Meeting 2 with your prospective client.

Your Guide to a Successful First Prospect Meeting

Step 1: Use An Engaging Script with the Gatekeeper

Getting past the gatekeeper is your first step in engaging any prospect. A script is helpful in these circumstances, and you’ll want to develop different playbooks depending on whether or not you know the decision-maker’s name (and if it’s logged in your CRM system). 

Successful brokers recommend researching the business and its decision-maker before you pick up the phone. This information can typically be found on a business website or LinkedIn profile. It’s always better to go into a call knowing the decision maker’s name than to spend time asking for it. 

In general, consider the following for your engagement script:

• Introduce Yourself to Build Credibility: Tell the recipient where you’re from, your goal, why you’re passionate about your work, etc.—whatever shows that you’re human! Having a strong credibility statement opens the door for more conversation. If you heard about the client through a referral, address them by name and let them know which of your clients referred them to you. Oftentimes, a referral comes through a CC on an email connecting a potential client to you, the broker. In that case, mention the referral as a reminder of the mutual connection between you and the prospect.    

• Develop Trust: If it sounds like your prospect is busy or unavailable, ask to call them back at a specific time and date, either that week or the next. Then, follow up like you promised. Failing to follow up sends the message that you’re not serious about working with them. 

• Avoid Voicemails (if you can): Try not to unless you’ve promised to leave a voicemail.

Step 2: Schedule a Meeting 1 with the Decision-Maker

Ultimately, your goal is to schedule a first meeting with your prospect’s decision-maker. Once you have them on the line, remember four pieces of advice:

• Explain How You Can Help: List how you can help them find policies that best fit their needs.  Some brokers start by asking prospects if they’re familiar with the Affordable Care Act. Because health insurance premiums go up, the broker’s job is to be an advisor who helps employers build sustainable health plan strategies that fit their needs. If that interests them, you’re on the right track to booking Meeting 1. 

• Provide Alternative Meeting Times: Give them two days and time options, and make it easy for them to commit. If neither of the options you’ve given them works with their schedule, ask them what time works for them.  

• Signal Your Intentions: You can state, “Let’s schedule a time to find a health plan strategy that fits your needs.” Your prospect may not accept a Meeting 1 invitation right away, but they’ll appreciate knowing your intentions in advance. 

Step 3: Set the Stage for a Successful Meeting 1

Your main goal in Meeting 1 is to land a Meeting 2. From the get-go, it’s important that you inspire confidence in the decision-maker. It’s important to remember that Meeting 1 is about discovery, not solutions. As a broker, you have tons of solutions, but half of them may not be applicable to your prospect. Your goal is to discover what means most to your prospect. 

Consider using the following tools: 

• Questionnaire: This set of questions shows the decision-maker that you have specific inquiries you’d like answered. Not only does this demonstrate that you've thought about the prospect in advance, but it also ensures you don’t forget to ask an important question. Questions should cover health benefits strategy, current internal administration processes, benefits policies the client seeks, and more. 

• Agenda: After you’ve completed the Questionnaire, outline your process for full transparency. 

Step 4: Outlining the Sales Process in Meeting 1

Being transparent by outlining your sales process may seem counterintuitive, but it allows the decision-maker to understand what’s next—and that there’s a process to your practice. 

Explain that in Meeting 1, your team typically looks to understand the client’s current situation, including health benefit strategy, future goals, internal administration processes, and other issues or concerns. Note: These will have already been discussed during the Questionnaire, so it will be top of mind with the decision-maker. 

Then, go into detail about what Meeting 2 will look like. You’ll offer your value proposition—what you can do to help solve the problems and concerns laid out in Meeting 1. For example, this may be digital benefits administration and open enrollment or tech support for clients—but save the details for your next meeting. 

Once this has been laid out, it’s time to set a date for Meeting 2. After filling out the Questionnaire, there’s a great chance that the decision-maker will want to proceed to see how your benefits solutions can help solve their issues. Saving the solutions for Meeting 2 will help keep clients engaged and ensure conversations are structured and productive. It’ll also show that you’ve taken the time to think through their problems and come back with curated solutions.