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 shit for good measure! At the end of the meeting everyone scratches their head and wonders why the sales team isn’t out tearing bumpers off of cars.
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 blackberries. You’re busy, we get it, now lets go back to playing nice with the other kids!
Speaking of parking lot, start using one! 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 any of these sales sites:
- www.gitomer.com
- www.salestrainingcamp.com
- www.eyesonsales.com
- www.salesopedia.com
- www.successmagazine.com
- www.sellingpower.com
…or dare I say, Castain’s Sales Playbook Blog? 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? In what ways can we thrive in these challenging times?”
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 shit 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.
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.
That’s it for now. You can expect more on this subject in the future!
3 Quick things before you go forth and kick ass:
- Subscribe to Paul Castain’s Sales Playbook by Email
- Please join The Sales Playbook LinkedIn Group
- If you find value in the various tidbits I share on this blog, how about hooking a Jedi up by passing this along to your sales team, customers, friends, networking buddies on LinkedIn? I’m trying like hell to be famous and could really use your help!
