ABC Disposal — pre-meeting prep checklist

Meeting: 30 min in-person · owner + ops manager · target close: 1-week discovery SOW signed

Day before

Re-read the evaluation document. Know cold: the 3-year TCO band ($57K–$91K SonicWall vs. $76K–$128K Cytracom CAD), the migration timeline (~4 weeks, satellites first), and the top 3 risks on slide 9.
Practice the cost slide out loud three times. This is the slide where fumbling shows. Three reps aloud, even quietly to yourself, is the single highest-leverage prep task.
Confirm the meeting by email or text — both owner and ops manager. Make sure no one has dropped or shifted.
Print these three pages: objection cheat sheet, room-reading guide, this checklist. Have them in front of you in the meeting.
Pre-write the discovery SOW template so it's ready to send within 24 hours of the meeting. Don't promise tomorrow if you can't deliver.

Hour before

Re-read the objection cheat sheet once through. Don't memorize — just refresh.
Open browser tabs for the top citations: CVE-2024-40766 (NVD), CISA KEV catalog, SonicWall PSIRT, Coalition claims report. If they ask for proof, you don't fumble.
Open deck.html in the browser. Go fullscreen (F11). Click through 2–3 slides to confirm it works. Test the P key for presenter view.
Write your three meeting goals on a sticky note. Put it where you'll see it.

Three goals for this meeting:
1. The recommendation lands — they understand we're saying replace, not patch.
2. The insurance angle lands as the strongest reason — not the cost slide.
3. We leave with the 1-week discovery SOW signed, or a booked follow-up to sign it.

10 minutes before

Silence phone. Water nearby. Deep breath.
Re-read the "in the meeting" section below.
Remind yourself: the deck does the work. Your job is to stay anchored to it, listen carefully, and ask for the next step at the end.
Have the room-reading guide and the objection cheat sheet visible. Glance at them mid-meeting if needed — that's what they're for.

In the meeting

Open with their problem, not the solution. Slide 2 restates what they've told us. Wait until slide 5 to make the recommendation.
Make eye contact with the ops manager at least as often as the owner. They're influence even if the owner is the decision.
When someone speaks, look at them. Wait two full seconds after they finish before responding. Skeptical-but-friendly clients reward this specifically.
If you don't know an answer: say so. "I want to give you an accurate answer — let me follow up by EOD tomorrow." Bluffing destroys trust faster than not knowing. The relationship has been long; protect it.
On the cost slide (7): say the number, then stop talking. Let them sit with it. The silence is theirs.
On the insurance slide (4): say the 82% line, then stop. Let it land.
Watch the room-reading guide signals. Adapt in real time.
At the end: ask for the next step. Specifically. With a date. With a calendar invite if possible. Don't leave the room without it.

This checklist is printable on one page. The deck is in deck.html in the same folder. Open it in Chrome or Edge, press F11 for fullscreen, arrow keys to navigate, P for presenter view.