A different way to look at Client Review meetings

After a successful client meeting this week I had a chance to review why it went well. I use a process that has the acronym NISE. Very simple to use as a framework ( which is why it is rarely used I guess!) Below I discuss the first two:

News: about us, events, results etc. This should be sharp and to the point. It always concerns me that companies present their credentials only to potential new business! Why not existing clients as well?? It makes sense if you think about it - the clients view of our business is only relevant at the last point you told them about us.
The other thought is that they will more than likely have our competitors calling them and they will be presenting their case from the point of developing new business. It follows that the client may well know more about our competitors abilities than ours!!!
Final word on this is just to say this must be brief.

Issues: about the clients business. This should be the main part of our agenda. What are the two or three most pressing issues that the client is facing? Where could we potentially help them? For example are they facing currency issues and can we assist them in reviewing their banking options? Are fuel costs a large expense and due to rising prices hurting margin? Could we review this area and attempt to redress the balance? Are they having to keep investing in new IT infrastructure to keep competitive? Can we advise them?

I'll discuss the other two areas next time but suffice it to say that ithe onus is on us to make these meetings both stimulating and informative!