- name
- meeting-workflow
- description
- Pre-meeting preparation and post-meeting processing for client engagements. Triggers on: meeting prep, client meeting, discovery meeting, follow-up, debrief, agenda, meeting notes, action items, next steps.
Meeting Workflow Skill
Structure advisor-client meetings for maximum value extraction. Handles both pre-meeting preparation (research, questions, agenda) and post-meeting processing (debrief capture, action items, follow-up drafts).
Pre-Meeting Mode
Discovery Meeting Prep
For first meetings with prospective or new clients, focus on:
Research before the meeting:
- Business basics: industry, approximate size, years in operation
- Owner basics: age, tenure, family involvement
- Referral source context: what does the referrer know about the situation?
- Public information: Google the business and owner
Discovery questions framework:
Opening (establish rapport and set expectations):
- "Tell me about the business: how did you get started, and how has it evolved?"
- "What made you reach out now?"
Exit motivation and timeline:
- "When you think about the future, what do you see?"
- "Is there a specific timeline or triggering event in mind?"
- "What would a successful exit look like for you?"
Business situation:
- "Walk me through how the business operates day-to-day."
- "Who are the key people, and what happens if any of them leave?"
- "How do customers find you, and why do they stay?"
Personal situation:
- "What does life look like after you exit?"
- "How does your family factor into the decision?"
- "What's your biggest concern about the transition?"
Closing (qualify and set next steps):
- "Based on our conversation, here's what I'm hearing. Does that match?"
- "What would be most valuable for us to tackle first?"
- "Here's what I'd suggest as a next step."
Structured Agenda Format
For ongoing client meetings where fact-finding data exists, generate agendas with this structure:
Fact-Finding Progress Overview
- Status of completed fact-finding with specific gaps to address
- Additional context needed: bullet points for deeper understanding
Business Overview
- Competitive advantage (based on fact-finding data or note if missing)
- Core value proposition (based on fact-finding data or note if missing)
Conversation Focus Areas
For each focus area, provide:
- Brief overview (1-2 sentences from fact-finding data)
- Contributing factors (positive and negative)
- Discussion starters (2-3 follow-up questions)
Standard focus areas:
- Enhancing Business Value: What makes it attractive to buyers
- Owner Goals Alignment: Personal and financial goals with exit strategy
- Transition Readiness: Can the business operate without the owner
- Succession Planning: Family, employees, or external buyers
- Financial Planning: Maximizing sale price and minimizing taxes
- Challenges and Opportunities: Key issues and growth areas
Keep agendas high-level (one page maximum). Go deeper only when asked.
Progress Meeting Prep
For ongoing engagement meetings:
Review before the meeting:
- Previous meeting notes and action items
- Progress on assigned initiatives
- Any new developments or changes
- Upcoming milestones or deadlines
Discussion framework:
- Action item review: what got done, what didn't, why?
- Obstacle identification: what's blocking progress?
- Priority check: are we working on the right things?
- New issues: anything changed since last meeting?
- Next 30/60/90 day focus
Difficult Conversation Prep
When delivering hard news (valuation below expectations, deal fell through, timeline extending):
Structure:
- Acknowledge the situation directly (don't bury the lead)
- Explain the why (facts, not opinions)
- Present options (what can we do now?)
- Reaffirm commitment (we're still on their team)
Example opener: "I have some news that isn't what we hoped for. Let me walk you through what happened, and then let's talk about where we go from here."
Post-Meeting Mode
Debrief Capture
Immediately after meeting, capture:
Meeting basics:
- Date, attendees, location/format
- Meeting type (discovery, progress, closing)
- Duration
Key information learned:
- New facts about business or owner situation
- Changes from previous understanding
- Emotional state and concerns observed
- Stakeholders mentioned
Decisions made:
- What did we agree to?
- Who committed to what?
- By when?
Red flags or concerns:
- Anything that worried you
- Inconsistencies in what owner said
- Risks to the engagement
Next steps:
- Immediate follow-up needed
- Items for next meeting agenda
- Research or preparation required
Action Item Extraction
From meeting notes, generate structured action items:
Format:
[ ] Action item description
Owner: [who is responsible]
Due: [specific date]
Context: [why this matters]Prioritization:
- Client-facing deliverables first
- Blocking items before non-blocking
- Quick wins before complex projects
Follow-Up Communication Drafts
Same-day follow-up email template:
Subject: Following up on our conversation
[Name],
Thank you for the conversation today. Here's my summary of what we discussed and agreed to:
Key points: [2-3 bullet summary of main discussion topics]
Action items: [You] will [action] by [date] [I/We] will [action] by [date]
Next meeting: [date/time] to [purpose]
If I've missed anything or you have questions, let me know.
[Signature]
Meeting notes to share (when appropriate):
Subject: Notes from [date] meeting
[Name],
Here's my summary from our meeting. Please review and let me know if I've captured anything incorrectly.
[Structured notes from debrief]
Talk soon, [Signature]
Output Formats
Pre-Meeting Prep Output (Discovery)
## Meeting Preparation: [Client Name]
**Date**: [meeting date]
**Type**: [discovery/progress/closing]
**Attendees**: [who's in the room]
### Context
[Brief summary of situation and meeting purpose]
### Key Questions
1. [Question with purpose]
2. [Question with purpose]
3. [Question with purpose]
### Things to Watch For
- [Red flag to probe]
- [Opportunity to explore]
### Materials Needed
- [Document to bring/share]
- [Reference to have ready]Pre-Meeting Agenda Output (Ongoing Client)
## Meeting Agenda: [Client Name] Exit Planning Session
### Fact-Finding Progress Overview
[Brief status of completed fact-finding with specific gaps to address]
**Additional Context Needed:**
- [Bullet point suggestions for deeper understanding]
### Business Overview
**Competitive Advantage:** [Based on fact-finding data or note if missing]
**Core Value Proposition:** [Based on fact-finding data or note if missing]
---
### Conversation Focus Areas
#### 1. Enhancing Business Value
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Positive: [List factors]
- Negative: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
#### 2. Owner Personal & Financial Goals
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Positive: [List factors]
- Negative: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
#### 3. Transition Readiness
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Positive: [List factors]
- Negative: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
#### 4. Succession Planning
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Positive: [List factors]
- Negative: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
#### 5. Financial Planning & Tax Optimization
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Positive: [List factors]
- Negative: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
#### 6. Key Challenges & Opportunities
**Overview:** [1-2 sentence summary from fact-finding data]
**Contributing Factors:**
- Challenges: [List factors]
- Opportunities: [List factors]
**Discussion Starters:**
- [Question 1]
- [Question 2]
---
> This is a high-level agenda. Ask for deeper analysis on any specific area.Post-Meeting Debrief Output
## Meeting Debrief: [Client Name]
**Date**: [meeting date]
**Duration**: [time]
**Attendees**: [who was there]
### Summary
[2-3 sentence overview of what happened]
### Key Learnings
- [Important fact or insight]
- [Important fact or insight]
### Decisions Made
- [Decision and context]
### Action Items
[ ] [Item] - [Owner] - [Due date]
[ ] [Item] - [Owner] - [Due date]
### Concerns/Red Flags
- [Concern and why it matters]
### Next Steps
- [What happens next]Escalation Triggers
Flag for different handling:
- Owner became emotional and meeting went off-track
- Significant new information changes the engagement scope
- Owner expressed dissatisfaction with progress or relationship
- Legal or ethical concerns raised
Example Output
User: I just finished a discovery meeting with a restaurant group owner. 3 locations, $4M revenue, he's 58 and burnt out. Wife is involved in operations. Two adult kids, neither interested in the business. He thinks the business is worth $2M but I'm skeptical. Help me debrief.
Response:
Meeting Debrief: Restaurant Group Owner
Summary: Discovery meeting with burnt-out restaurant operator seeking exit. Classic owner-operator exhaustion with unrealistic value expectations. Wife involvement adds complexity to transition. No internal succession option with disinterested children.
Key Learnings:
Timeline driver is burnout, not opportunity: This creates urgency but also risk. Burnt-out sellers make emotional decisions and may accept bad deals or, conversely, refuse reasonable offers because they're too exhausted to process them.
Spouse operations involvement: Need to understand her role. Is she essential to operations or more of a support role? If essential, her buy-in on exit timing and terms is critical. If she wants to continue and he doesn't, that's a conflict to surface.
Kids definitively out: Confirmed no internal family succession. This is actually clarifying: external sale is the only path. No need to navigate family transition complexity.
$2M value expectation: Red flag. $4M restaurant revenue at typical margins (5-8% net) produces $200-320K earnings. At 2-3x multiple common for restaurants, value range is $400K-960K. His $2M expectation is 2-5x likely reality. This conversation is coming.
Questions I didn't get to ask (for next meeting):
- What does the wife want? (Critical gap)
- What's the breakdown of revenue and profitability by location?
- Are locations owned or leased? What are the lease terms?
- What's the management structure: any GMs who could stay post-sale?
- What's his $2M based on? Revenue multiple? What someone told him?
Immediate concerns:
Value expectation gap: Needs careful handling. Don't validate the $2M number, but also don't crush him in discovery phase. Frame as: "Let's look at the financials and see what the market would pay" rather than "You're wrong."
Burnout decision-making: He may not be in optimal state to make major decisions. Consider whether pace needs to slow down, or whether getting him to an exit faster is actually the kindest path.
Action Items:
- Send follow-up email with summary - Me - Tomorrow
- Send the owner your standard document request list - Me - Tomorrow
- Get lease agreements for all locations - Owner - 1 week
- Schedule a deeper dive meeting once the documents are in - Me - 2 weeks
Follow-up email draft:
Subject: Following up on today's conversation
[Name],
Appreciated the honest conversation today. I can hear that you're ready for a change, and I want to help you get there in a way that sets you up well for the next chapter.
To move forward, I'll need:
- The items on the document request list I've attached
- Current lease agreements for each property
- A rough org chart showing who runs what
Once I have those, I'll do an initial analysis and we can have a more detailed conversation about options and realistic timelines.
One thing I'd also like to understand better: what does [wife's name] want? Her perspective on timing and transition will be important as we plan this out.
Talk soon, [Signature]
Note for your records: The valuation expectation conversation is coming. Don't address it in writing yet. That's a face-to-face discussion after you've reviewed the financials and can present data, not opinions.