THE TACTIC

Most client calls start the same way. A few minutes of small talk, then “So, what did you want to go over?” Then the conversation wanders. Someone remembers something halfway through. The thing you actually needed an answer on comes up with five minutes left, or doesn’t come up at all, and you end up sending a follow-up email that should have been the call. A thirty-minute meeting takes an hour, and still ends without a decision.

A short agenda, sent ahead of time, fixes most of that. It takes two minutes to write, and it changes the whole shape of the call.

Why it works

An agenda gives the call a finish line. When everyone knows the three things you’re covering and what should be decided by the end, the conversation has a direction, and people naturally steer back to it. It also gives the client time to prepare. If you need a login, a budget number, or a decision from their business partner, they can get it before the call instead of saying “let me check and get back to you.”

It also does something for how you’re perceived. Very few small vendors send agendas. The one who does reads as organized, respectful of the client’s time, and more established than their size would suggest. That impression carries into how they treat your invoices, your deadlines, and your rates.

How to run it

Keep it to three parts. What we’ll cover, as two to four short bullets. What I need from you, as anything they should bring or decide in advance. And the outcome, as one sentence on what will be settled when you hang up.

For tomorrow’s call: (1) review the draft homepage, (2) confirm the launch date, (3) go over the photo list. Please have your final logo file handy. By the end we should have the launch date locked and the photo list approved.

Send it the day before. Not the morning of, when they’re already busy, and not a week out, when they’ll forget. Reply to the calendar invite or the last email thread so it’s easy to find.

Open the call with it. After a minute of hello: “I sent over three things, so let’s start with the homepage.” That’s all it takes to set the pace.

Close with a recap. The last two minutes are for confirming what was decided and who does what next. Send that recap in writing the same day, in two or three lines.

The mistake most people make

Making it too long. An agenda with ten items is a sign the meeting should be two meetings, or an email. The other mistake is treating it as a script and cutting off anything not on the list. If the client raises something important, handle it. The agenda is there to make sure the essentials get covered, not to stop a useful conversation.