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Giving too much control to the slide set

While working for a company that was prominent in its field, I was involved in a Technical Review Meeting with a major customer. Our preparation was extensive, with a lot of work going into the presentations. Then, when it was all over and the wine and cheese were bringing matters to a close, I asked my champion customer for some feedback.

And why had he been so (uncharacteristically) quiet throughout the proceedings?

"Well," he replied, "you spent all day telling us how brilliant you were, and so there didn't seem to be much left to say."

Oops! We had fallen into the old trap, focusing excessively on the slide set (GPS: Get Powerpoint Slides). As a result, the organisation of the meeting had been far too biased towards our presentations and what we wanted to tell the customer.

In fact, the only encounter preparation that worked out well that day was done by the Sales VP's Personal Assistant. She had baked a fantastic rhubarb pie for the break, and was the only one of us that had the client's real needs in mind!

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