Episode #199: Virtual Selling: How To Prepare For Online Meetings

Why are online meetings easy with existing clients but stressful with new ones?

Online meetings with existing clients tend to feel effortless because trust, rapport, and shared history already exist. You’re simply continuing a relationship that has been built over time.

Meeting a brand-new client online, however, is different. You may be seeing each other for the first time through a screen, without the normal cues that in-person meetings provide. This unfamiliarity often raises anxiety and makes the first virtual meeting feel high-stakes.

Mini-summary: Existing clients bring built-in trust; new clients require deliberate trust-building in a more limited virtual environment.

First-time online meetings often trigger a heightened sense of stress. Typical questions include:

• “Will I be able to build trust online?”

• “Can I establish rapport when we are physically separated?”

• “Will the audio or connection fail, and will I miss key signals?”

These concerns are normal, especially during Covid-19 when remote work has become standard across many industries. The good news is that preparation reduces uncertainty—and uncertainty is what fuels anxiety most.

Mini-summary: Stress comes from uncertainty about trust, rapport, and communication quality; preparation lowers all three.

How should you prepare your industry and company knowledge before meeting?

Before the meeting, refresh your understanding of the client’s industry and business context. Especially during Covid-19, every sector has been disrupted differently. Ask yourself:

• Is their market declining or growing? At what speed and scale?

• What do you know about their company’s current revenue situation?

• What pressures are their rivals facing that may also affect them?

Also research the specific individual you will meet:

• Title and role in decision-making

• Public professional background (LinkedIn, company site, news, etc.)

• Any shared connections inside your network

This groundwork helps you enter the conversation with relevant hypotheses instead of generic questions.

Mini-summary: Strong preparation means understanding the market, company pressures, competitors, and the individual’s role before you ever log in.

Virtual meetings magnify attention: clients notice quickly if you are speaking from their perspective—or only from yours.

So, revisit the value you bring, not just the specifications. Ask:

• What business outcomes do clients gain by using your solution?

• How have other clients applied your value inside their organizations?

• What measurable improvements did they achieve?

Sharing real application stories early helps new clients see you as a partner, not just a vendor.

Mini-summary: Benefits and outcomes build credibility faster than specs, especially when trust is not yet established.

How do you anticipate the buyer’s perspective?

Most buyers judge solutions within a “triangle of tension” between time, quality, and cost. Their priorities differ depending on their role:

• CEO: strategic direction, long-term advantage

• CFO: cash flow discipline, risk control

• Technical buyer: specifications, guarantees, feasibility

• User buyer: ease of adoption, support, delivery reliability

Knowing who you’re speaking to shapes your language, examples, and emphasis.

Mini-summary: Align your conversation to the buyer type—strategy, finance, technical detail, or user adoption.

Before scheduling the meeting, do a quick alignment exercise:

1. Draw a vertical line down a sheet of paper.

2. On the left, list likely issues the client faces right now.

3. On the right, match where your solutions genuinely help.

Some issues may fall outside your scope—and that is fine. The aim is clarity on where you can create value based on their priorities.

Mini-summary: A simple two-column map forces honest alignment between their problems and your real contribution.

How do you qualify the meeting during the appointment-setting call?

When you call to request the meeting, first confirm whether the meeting is actually useful for them. A practical structure is:

1. Thank them for their time.

2. Say: “To prepare properly, may I ask a few quick questions?”

3. Test your hypotheses:

   • “Many companies in your industry are facing XYZ right now. Is that a concern for you too?”

You are listening for signals of real pain points—so you can tailor the meeting to what matters.

Depending on the business, explore usage shifts:

• Are they using more or less of what you supply due to Covid-19?

Then check budget reality with respect:

• “Many companies are careful about investments right now. What budget level are you working with?”

Mini-summary: A qualifying call protects their time and yours by confirming needs, usage trends, and budget fit.

When should you decide not to meet—and how do you say it?

After your qualifying call, you may realize there is no strong reason to meet. If so, say so politely and frame it around respecting their time.

If there is clear value, state it confidently and ask for the online appointment. Virtual meetings work best when both sides know why they are investing the time.

Mini-summary: If value is unclear, decline respectfully; if value is clear, ask confidently.

• First online meetings with new clients feel stressful because trust and rapport are not yet built.

• Preparation on industry, company, competitors, and buyer role dramatically reduces uncertainty.

• Lead with outcomes and benefits, not specs, to accelerate credibility.

• Qualify needs and budget early so virtual meetings are purposeful and high-value.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients (日本企業 / Japanese companies, 外資系企業 / multinational companies) ever since.