Sales Tips: 7 Secrets to a Strong Sales Meeting
Over the years I have had the opportunity to sit in and observe clients sales meetings. Some of the meetings went very well while others turned into heated arguments. As I observed both types of meetings there was a key distinction between them.
In the argumentative meetings there was a tendency on the part of the participants to…
Take things personally rather than see the message and the sender of the message being separate.
The use of “you said” was common as opposed to using “what I heard”.
People did not wait for the speaker to complete their thought and were interrupting instead of listening for the speaker to complete their thought.
Participants were checking messages on their phone during the meeting and not giving the speaker their undivided attention.
Meetings were interrupted by someone coming into the room and pulling participants out of the room.
People who had left the room and returned wanted to be brought up to date on what they missed.
Here are some thoughts to consider if you are serious about growing your sales, profits, market share and getting the best from your business development meetings.
Prepare and send out an agenda prior to the meeting.
Stick to the agenda.
Start and end the meeting on time.
Establish ground rules about interruptions and cell phones, texting, e-mails, etc.
End the meeting with a brief review of what was accomplished.
End the meeting with action plans and due dates for those action plans.
If another meeting was intended, book it prior to the initial meeting and follow up with a memo and agenda. Alternate....If another meeting is needed book it without delay and follow up with a memo and agenda.