Archive for October, 2005

Once a meeting has been planned, the big job is in getting the salesmen to listen! People aren’t good listeners as they once were. Employees, particularly salespeople, no longer sit in awe and respect while company officials talk for hours on end. The modern salesperson has a greater feeling of independence. He’s attentive as long as the meeting is so interesting that it commands or deserves his attention.

Use demonstration, not conversation

The day of dry speeches is over. Salespeople want to be shown. They want demonstration, not conversation. So why base a meeting on speeches? Everyone wants action-something to see or do. Showmanship in sales meetings is now essential!

Build Your Meeting Around a Central Theme
A central theme is good showmanship. If well projected, the theme puts life in a meeting, helps keep the attention and interest of the audience.

A Long Beach retailer declared, “Our meetings are much better received now that we’re using central themes. Each meeting has more overall significance and meaning. And the theme helps connect each event within a meeting. It provides continuity.”

Sales meetings have not always been enjoyable. As a gruff old timer explained it, “I called my employees together every week whether I had anything to say or not. It kept them on their toes-let them know I was the boss. Besides, there was always something to jump on them about.”

Since sales can always be higher, salespeople caught the brunt of it. Even when other personnel were excluded, salespeople were often made to suffer through such meetings. But the boss finally realized that his tactics were wrong. As American business grew up, the boss grew up with it. He learned that good sales meetings are conducted on a positive plane, that salespeople must be encouraged rather than reprimanded. He found that emphasis should be placed on the successes of today and the plans for tomorrow-not on yesterday’s failures.

A supervisor may be extremely dissatisfied with his salesmen. Even so, there’s little to be gained from “reading the riot act” to them. An open admission that things are all wrong is an admission that management may also be at fault. It usually causes a group of salesmen to defend themselves and, if possible, to strike back. Good planning, therefore, sometimes includes restraint. Mistakes are covered with sufficient tact. An error is referred to as possibly an isolated instance. The meeting is then better received.

A Case in Point

Here’s a case history-An appliance manufacturer developed a “canned” sales presentation. It worked very well. But the salesmen didn’t continue using it. They became “too smart” to use it. They added things, omitted others. Before long there was little resemblance between how they were selling and how they should have been selling. Result: sales dropped sharply. When the sales manager discovered the trouble, he hit the roof! “Those idiots! I ought to fire every one of them! I’ll really tell them a thing or two!”

Did he? Of course not. He was too intelligent for that. Instead, he planned a sales meeting in a positive vein. The meeting covered:

* Why a “canned” presentation was developed.
* How it was developed. …The expense incurred in development
* Proof of its success, including several examples.
* How to use the presentation….Demonstrations of its use. ….An appeal for its use in the field.
* The announcement that several of the staff would be asked to report their success with it at the next meeting.

As might be expected, reaction to the meeting was quite favorable. Instead of being bawled out, the men were sold on the idea of using the presentation, shown how to use it, and were inspired to follow through. Sales volume started climbing immediately.

The point: a sales meeting is not a place to blow-off steam. Good meetings are usually based on a positive tone.

How to plan your sales meetings

* Determine the Objective of Your Meeting
* Give Your Audience What It Wants
* Prepare an Agenda Based on Your Objective
* Decide Upon the Length of Your Meeting
* Select the Best Time for Your Meeting
* Choose the Proper Personnel to Attend
* Plan a Positive Tone for Your Meeting

“People attending a meeting should have common needs and interests,” states an Oklahoma sales executive. “This enables you to present subject matter that is applicable to all. A clerk in the accounting department doesn’t need information on sales techniques, nor is he interested in it. ‘Birds of a feather’ should be flocked together. Then your sales meetings will show results.”

Of course, general information is more universal in its application. Such subjects as sick leave policy and payroll deductions can profitably be presented to employees whose jobs are quite different, as well as to experienced, and inexperienced salesmen. But information on how to use new cash registers would apply only to cashiers. Rules regarding expense accounts would concern only those who travel. For such specific information, the audience should be narrowed to the people concerned.

The type of meeting helps determine the size of the audience. For instance, a training meeting ordinarily includes a “tryout” by every person attending. This indicates that training sessions can best be conducted for small audiences.

Some meetings include group discussion. In such instances, a small audience is best. Group discussion is not sufficiently dynamic to keep the interest of a large crowd. An inspirational meeting, on the contrary, can be conducted for a large audience. The size of the crowd tends in itself to be inspirational.

Internal factors, such as customer traffic, often have a bearing on the time for your meeting. However, a short meeting can be held nearly any time. A long meeting should be scheduled for a period of the day that is not ordinarily productive.

Early morning meetings are best because people are more alert and receptive at that time of day. Also, this enables the salesmen to plunge into their work immediately-before enthusiasm has worn off. Evening meetings, on the other hand, may send everyone home to sleep off his enthusiasm.

The same principle is observed in selecting the day of the week. The early part ordinarily is better. Meetings at the end of the week may generate fire at the time it is least productive.

The length of the meeting should be governed by your objective, because the meeting must last long enough for the objective to be reached. If you cannot accomplish your purpose, something must be changed. You need either a longer meeting or a smaller objective. In such cases, the fault usually is in the objective. Settle for an objective you know you can reach.

An inspirational meeting might be quite short. You can inspire a group in only ten minutes, with a good pep talk. An instructional type meeting would ordinarily last longer. Instruction should be retained by the audience and it takes time to drive information to the retention point. For instance, it’s often advisable to present the information visually as well as verbally, or twice instead of once.

A training meeting is still longer, as it involves trial performance. The salesmen “tryout,” under supervision during the meeting. Proper habits and techniques are developed. All this takes time.

Your meeting may include some of all of these inspiration, instruction, and training. In such cases, simply allow more time for the instructional part, and more time still for the section on training. The length of the sections can then be totaled to determine the length of the overall meeting.

Should salesmen be brought in from great distances, longer meetings are appropriate. Their travel is costly. Having already invested in their travel, you’ll want a maximum return for your investment. So travel expense is another factor to consider when deciding on the length of the meeting.

Sometimes you’ll complete a meeting ahead of schedule. If you’re sure the objective of the meeting has been met, call a halt! Stalling for time in order to “run out the clock” is a waste of valuable manpower. Further, it precludes ending the meeting on a high note.

Items for the agenda should be arranged in logical sequence. Tips on approaching the customer are placed before methods of presenting the product. A demonstration of the product should precede closing the sale.

The sales vice president of an industrial concern said, “A natural sequence makes for better understanding. Schedule any general information first. Then narrow the subject matter toward your objective, becoming more specific all the time.”

Sample Agenda

Objective: To make strong closers of the salesmen.

1st subject * 3 minutes -> Recent sales trends showing a need for closing more sales.
2nd subject ** 3 minutes -> The steps in a sale-attention, interest, desire, action.
3rd subject ** 16 minutes -> Step number 4-how to close, or how to prompt action.
4th subject ** 15 minutes -> A movie or some demonstrations on trial closes.
5th subject ** 3 minutes -> Summary, plea for application in the field, inspirational close.

In the foregoing sample agenda, note the logical sequence of subject matter. The need or reason for strong closing is developed before emphasis is placed on the subject. This makes the salesmen want to learn more about closing techniques. Then the steps in a sale are briefly covered. This shows the relationship of the close to the other steps, pointing up its importance. Thereafter, all emphasis is on the close itself.

To prepare an agenda, select topics in keeping with the objective.

If you want to motivate salesmen, what subjects would be most likely to do it? Wouldn’t something on enthusiasm be inspirational? What about positive thinking? Should you have someone give an account of how he succeeded?

Let’s suppose you want to train instead of motivate. In what areas is training needed? On product information? On closing techniques? Can training needs be satisfied at one meeting or should a series of meetings be scheduled? Which training needs are most important? For example, isn’t it all important for every man to master his sales presentation? Which needs are most urgent? Shouldn’t you do something now to get the men to move overstocked items?

Ask yourself questions such as these. You can then decide upon appropriate subject matter.

So much for your objective. What does the audience hope to accomplish?
Many members of the audience will have their own objectives. Some will want one thing, while others will want another. One individual may desire certain product information, for example. Another might be seeking the answer to a new objection.

Group discussion will satisfy many of these specific needs. However, the major need oi the audience is a good meeting. Make the meeting interesting, enjoyable, and beneficial. Everyone would gladly settle for that! Make each meeting so interesting, enjoyable and beneficial that the audience will welcome the next.

Occasionally you should poll the audience. Hand out pieces of paper headed, “Subjects to be covered at future sales meetings.” Some of the suggestions that are listed will surprise you! By covering most of their requests, however, you’ll be giving the audience the subjects desired. Most of their topics will be good ones, too.

The first step in planning a sales meeting is to decide on an objective. How can your personnel do a bigger and better job? If you analyzed sales records, could you spot areas in which there’s room for improvement? For instance, would the records show a need for more calls? How about new items are they being “pushed”? Can selling costs be lowered?

Other company officials may have suggestions. Should they be queried? Does the director of marketing believe your salesmen are in tune with current trends? Can the advertising manager suggest better ways to use advertising at the point of sale? Does the personnel manager have anything to “throw in the pot”? How about the merchandise manager?

The manager of a drugstore chain asked himself questions such as these. He was surprised at the answers he received! Several staff members had suggestions, all of real benefit. A post meeting reaction report revealed that the sales people considered the meeting to be the most helpful they had ever attended.

Decide what should be accomplished. Aim for specific objectives. Do you want to inform everyone? Do you want to tell of impending changes? Or do you want to cover certain problems? Is motivation the prime objective? If so, in what way? Should your staff be inspired to work harder? Longer? Do you want to exchange ideas or is specific training needed? What should be done?

Finally . . . is a sales meeting the best means of accomplishing your objective? What do you want your sales staff to do as a result of the meeting? Do you want more enthusiasm shown? More call backs now?

Good sales meetings are like good sales. They don’t just happen. They are made to happen. “I don’t see any visitors on Fridays,” declared the sales manager of a large real estate firm, “Most of every Friday is devoted to planning my Saturday morning sales meetings.” Such thorough planning is more than a good investment. It’s absolutely essential for a good meeting.

“We have regular monthly meetings,” explained a Minneapolis department store owner. “The moment one meeting is over, we start planning the next. There’s a critique after every meeting. At that time we discuss what to do, and what not to do, at our meeting the following month.”