Let’s face it, most Sales Meetings suck! Many of them have way too much administrative minutia, are easily hijacked by someone going off on a tangent, perhaps a brag fest from the veteran who you need to continually make a note to give a damn about. Part bitch fest, beat up session and perhaps some good old fashioned shooting of the proverbial sh*t for good measure! At the end of the meeting everyone scratches their head and wonders why they are completely demotivated.
Sound familiar?
Someone hand me the jaws of life baby, ‘cause its time we pull the sales team from the wreck!
Take turns being CMO (Chief Meeting Officer) for that week or month, The Chief Meeting Officer’s job is to plan the meeting and run it with your manager’s blessing. The beauty of this is that you get to experience many different styles and you will work an important muscle group called facilitation. The CMO appoints a scribe for that meeting. The scribe’s job is to take down the minutes and send everyone a recap 24-48 hours after the meeting.
Agree that the meetings will now start and end on time and a zero tolerance policy with regard to bitching is now in effect. Oh and shut off the damn cell phones and close the laptops. You’re busy, we get it, now lets go back to something called “manners”!
Start Using A “Parking Lot”! This is simply a flip chart or a pad of paper with the heading “Parking Lot” written on it. From now on, when you run out of time on a discussion or someone has this urge to take the meeting way the hell into left field you can simply “Parking Lot” the idea. If you use your parking lot properly, you will now have tons of future meeting topics that no one can push back on. Why? Because they suggested the topic!
Take turns doing a quick report on an article from a sales website
…or dare I say, my blog or podcast? You can have 1-2 reps per meeting give a 3-5 minute presentation on an article. The presenter gets to work on critical presentation skills, they will be forced to “own” the material and the group will benefit from the knowledge share.
Brainstorming: Pick a topic and ask the group the ultimate brainstorming question. “In What Ways Can We” and then fill in the blank. Example: “In what ways can we bring in more local accounts?
On The Spot: Write down on 3 x 5 cards different things each person needs to know inside and out. You could have product/service questions, perhaps a common objection, give us your 30 second elevator speech etc. The Rep picks a random card out of a hat and they must stand up in front of their peers and respond. The group offers feedback and discusses different ways of handling that same situation. Don’t want to use random cards? Take turns fielding left hooks thrown by the sales team.
Have everyone bring their typical emails, letters and creative door openers. Share ideas, critique, brainstorm.
Vertical Market Discussion: Have someone who has sold a particular vertical do a presentation to include: Overview of that vertical, typical points of entry and title of the decision makers, buzzwords, typical pain/opportunity points, perhaps a case history or two, typical questions you would use in a needs analysis for that vertical, name of an industry trade group, websites etc.
Role Play: (and not that kinky stuff where you are the traveling salesman she is the evil warrior princess) Have someone think of a recent appointment they were on and have them play that prospect. Someone else plays the role of the rep and has to uncover the needs. Everyone can offer input and constructive feedback.
Use LinkedIn Group Discussions To Inspire Team Discussions One overlooked benefit of belonging to LinkedIn Sales Groups is that they can give you an endless supply of discussion topics.
Invite Guests: Invite your CFO to come in and speak about the importance of financials. Invite anyone who purchases things for your company to come in and speak about how they buy, what pisses them off about sales reps, what sales tactics have been used on them etc. Oh, and you can consider having me either phone in or present live. email me for pricing and details paul@yoursalesplaybook.com
Good News: Always end your meeting with some good news. This is your body armor. Focusing on the crap, the loses, the negativity will completely undo every bit of good that was just accomplished. Can’t think of any? Perhaps you are embracing the wrong livelihood then! We need to be the cheerleaders of our organization and it all begins with us!
Important Note To Sales Managers: A sales meeting should never be a lecture! Don’t ever let a group of sales people sit back, fold their arms and give you the old “Entertain me circus boy” BS. Keep it interactive. Ask people specific questions, ask for their opinion, their spin, a different spin, another example.
So there you have it. Several ways to unsuckify your next sales meeting!
Hire Paul To Speak At Your Kick Off Meeting
I help sales reps, sales leaders and business owners sell more. To learn how, click HERE. For speaking availability and rates, email me paul@yoursalesplaybook.com
