Preparing for a client meeting
Most people prepare for a meeting by reading their notes. Saying the opening and the first questions out loud shows what is missing from the notes.
This page describes training: practising a call with an AI client. DIRI AI does not evaluate employees, and the outcome of a call is not a basis for decisions about people.
The situation: the day before an important meeting
You know the client from an earlier contact, you have notes and an offer, but you do not know how the meeting will start or what will surprise you. Yet the first minutes decide whether the client opens up.
- At the start, the client says they only have twenty minutes.
- The client's needs differ from what you prepared.
- At the end of the meeting there is no agreement on who does what and by when.
Typical mistakes
Mistakes usually show up only at the meeting. In practice they can be fixed in advance.
- An opening that is too long, about yourself and your company.
- Presenting the offer before asking enough about the client's needs.
- Closed questions that the client answers with yes or no.
- No prepared answer to an objection that could have been foreseen.
- The meeting ends with no summary and no next step.
How you practise it in DIRI AI
You play the meeting through by voice with an AI client, based on what you know about the real person but without their personal data.
- Write your own scenario: the client type, their situation, the goal of the meeting and the objection you are worried about.
- Choose the difficulty according to how demanding a client you expect.
- Practise the opening, the first questions and the summary at the end.
- Read the report with quoted moments and one recommended change.
- Repeat the meeting with an adjusted opening and compare your attempts.
A sample from practice
The opening of a meeting with a client who limits the time right at the start.
- You
- Thank you for making time. First, tell me what you would like to come out of this meeting.
- AI client
- I only have twenty minutes. I want to know whether a change would pay off for me, and nothing more.
- You
- All right, let us stick to that. What does the situation look like today, and what bothers you most about it?
- AI client
- I pay more than I would like to, and nobody has ever explained it to me.
- You
- Let me check I understand correctly: you want a clear explanation of what you are paying for and to judge whether a change would pay off. Can we start with the first one?
- AI client
- Yes, exactly.
This example is fictional. It is not a transcript of a real call and not a sample of an evaluation output.
Frequently asked questions
Is meeting preparation suitable for advisors too, not only for sales reps?
Yes. The principle is the same: you go through the opening, the questions and the summary out loud. For insurance advisors we also have a separate guide on analysing client needs.
Can I put details of a real client into the scenario?
Do not enter names or personal data of real people. Describe the client type and their situation in general terms.
Is the AI client predictable?
It reacts to what you actually say and keeps to its own motives and objections. The exact course therefore differs with every attempt.
How long does the preparation take?
On the Free plan one call lasts at most five minutes, so practising the opening and the first objection fits into a short break.
What if I need to practise a meeting in another language?
You can practise in Czech, Slovak, Polish, German and English. Scores for calls outside Czech are marked as preliminary.
Walk through the meeting in advance
Enter the client's situation, try the opening out loud and find out what to change before you go to the real meeting. Free plan: one call a day.