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Welcome to the Succession newsletter where 900+ life science sales reps improve their skills in 5 minutes per week. If you’re getting value from these newsletters, we'd love it if you could forward it along to your sales colleagues. If you’re new here, subscribe below.

Cold email is not dead—but it needs resuscitating!

We're excited to announce the launch of our FREE, high-impact, 30-minute sales training talks!

In the last year alone, we've worked with over 50 life science companies, delivering sales training and lead generation as a service.

Through this experience, we've identified precisely:
✅ What messages land effectively
✅ The best tools to use
✅ How to strategically approach cold email for maximum impact

This practical, data-driven workshop will share key insights to help you boost your response rates, increase pipeline, and improve the return on your efforts.

When: Thursday, May 22 at 8 PT, 11 ET, 4 UK

Hope to see you there!

Most Client Review Meetings Miss the Mark

Most "business review" meetings aren't actually about the client.

They’re about us and our capabilities or our results.

And while those things matter, they’re not what keeps your client up at night.

They’re not what gets them to invite three colleagues to the next call. And they’re definitely not what gets you deeper embedded in their strategic plans for the year.

At Succession, we’ve worked with over 50 life science companies in the last year and one of the most consistent missed opportunities we see is in how companies handle their ongoing client check-ins.

They either aren’t doing them at all or they’re leaving a ton of opportunity on the table.

These are the meetings that should drive growth. But too often, they stall out as glorified status updates.

We’ve built a simple framework to fix that. It's helped our clients retain more revenue, expand into new departments, and create real advocates inside their customer base.

Before we share the framework, let’s talk about what’s going wrong.

Most Review Meetings Are Backwards

The common playbook looks something like this:

• You schedule or get invited to a quarterly or biannual review meeting.

• You prepare a slick slide deck showing deliverables, some nice charts, maybe a new product feature or two.

• You talk for 35 minutes. Then say, “Any questions?”

There’s no meaningful discovery. No clear understanding of what the client’s priorities are now vs. six months ago vs 6 months into he future. No insight shared. And no reason for them to keep bringing you into conversations that actually matter.

It’s backwards because we make it about us and not about them.

It’s not always intentional. This is probably how you’ve been trained to do it. And it’s often because expectations are not set appropriately.

If the calendar invite says, “QBR – Vendor Update,” what do you think the client expects? A one-way presentation from a vendor.

But if it says, “Strategic Business Review – Aligning on Goals and Opportunities,” you’ve already started to shift the tone.

What High-Impact Review Meetings Look Like

If you want to run client meetings that build real relationships and generate more business, here’s the framework we use:

1. Set the Context

Start with the most important question: What’s in it for them?

Don’t dive straight into what you’ve done. Set the stage by making it clear what they’re going to get out of the meeting. Ideally, you’ve done this BEFORE the call. So they have a real reason to actually attend or invite their leadership to the call.

For example:

It’s short, but it shifts the focus. This is a conversation about their business, not just your service.

2. Documented Results

Now you earn credibility. Show them what you’ve helped them achieve.

Keep it simple: one slide of qualitative wins, one slide of quantitative proof. Tie everything you’ve done to business outcomes wherever possible. Don’t just show technical data. Show how that data is driving business decisions and hitting business objectives.

Tip: If you don’t know the answers to those questions, then you’re talking at the wrong level of the organization!

Avoid the temptation to show every single thing you’ve delivered. Pick the wins that matter most to them, and link them to what they care about.

3. Share Your Insight

This is where most companies fall short.

If all you’re doing is showing what you’ve done, you’re replaceable. If you’re bringing insight they can’t get elsewhere, you become a strategic partner.

This is your chance to say:

You should show up with something they didn’t know and make them think. This is an easy way to transition into the next session talking about what they’re focused on over the next 6-12 months.

4. Client Company Update

Now we shift the spotlight.

This is your opportunity to understand where they’re heading. Ask direct questions:

• “What are the top 3 priorities your team is working on in the next 6 months?”

• “What’s changed since we last spoke?”

• “What are your thoughts on the insights we shared?”

• “Where are the biggest risks or pressures right now?”

• “Where do you see the biggest opportunities to take advantage of?”

It’s not enough to know what they bought from you. You need to know what they’re trying to achieve beyond your work so you can tie your work to their strategic objectives.

When you make the conversation about business goals, it’s easier to justify having leadership, ops, or cross-functional colleagues in the room.

5. Your Company Update

This is your moment to share any relevant changes on your end, but keep it tied to them and the objectives you just talked about.

If you’ve launched a new product or service, frame it around how it benefits their goals. Don’t just jump into your standard pitch deck.

If it’s not relevant to their current or future needs, leave it out.

6. Next Steps

Use everything you’ve just learned to map out the next 90 days.

Don’t be afraid to identify potential risks, dependencies, or blockers. It shows maturity and builds trust.

If they’ve shared new goals, align your suggested next steps to those outcomes. Be specific.

Make it collaborative. Let them weigh in. But come with a strong point of view.

7. Ask for a Referral

If the meeting went well, you’ve earned the right to ask.

People love to give referrals at the moment they have received value. This is not always when the product is delivered. It could be right after they sign a contract or right after a great conversation where they learned something new.

Name-drop specific people you want to get introduced to.

Always ask! It’s the easiest way to expand within an existing account.

This Isn’t a Presentation. It’s a Conversation.

If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that your goal isn’t to present better.

It’s to make your client feel seen, supported, and smarter after the call.

A strategic business review should feel like a co-working session on their biggest priorities, not a vendor update about your product roadmap.

The more value they get from the meeting, the more buy-in you’ll earn. And the more access you’ll gain to the rest of the org.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

In 2024 and 2025, we’ve seen two things:

• Companies are cutting non-essential spend.

• Buyers are under more pressure to show ROI fast.

That means it’s not enough to deliver. You have to demonstrate value clearly and you have to keep aligning as their business shifts.

Your quarterly review isn’t just about retention. It’s about growth.

When done well, these meetings become a flywheel:

• Clients feel understood.

• They trust you with more of their priorities.

• You expand your footprint inside the account.

• You reduce churn and accelerate new opportunities.

1. Lead Generation: We’ll build target lists, write scientifically relevant messaging, and send messages on your behalf to book qualified sales meetings with biotech and pharma companies.

2. Training for Reps: A skill development platform for life science sales reps who want to improve their sales skills, exceed their quota, and take the next step in their career.

3. Training for Teams: If you want to upskill your team around prospecting, driving to close, key account management, AI, or any other topic, we can put together a training plan specific to your organization’s needs.

4. Strategy Call: Need more than training? Want help implementing and executing your sales strategy? In a 30-minute call, we will assess your company’s current situation and identify growth opportunities.