How to organize a workshop?

A group of bakery owners met for the first time. It was an enjoyable meeting. The fellows were glad to get acquainted with each other. Also, the program included some interesting speakers. They returned to their homes with the feeling that it had been a good meeting. In some ways it had. But little had been done to solve the problems of the industry. Little had been done to improve the industry. Instead, there had been a succession of speeches that superficially stabbed at a few festered places, not nearly reaching the core.

The next year they met again. This time they noticed that extra curricular conferences were quite profitable. As one bakery owner explained it, “After the meeting I spent an hour with four other fellows. They have the same problems as I do. I got more help from that one hour than I did from the two-day meeting.” The group soon realized that long-winded speeches were ineffective. One baker said, “Let’s get to the crux of things. Let’s solve some of our problems together. We can help each other.” Another chimed in, “Yes, and while some of us confer on one problem, a second group can discuss another matter. We might have several sections, each working on a separate problem.”
Thus a workshop was born.

A workshop is a meeting in which people solve their own problems with a minimum of outside assistance. It is a work session rather than a series of speeches. Leadership teams are drawn from the group itself. The people learn together as a result of their own efforts. To organize a workshop, plan a general assembly as your first event. At this assembly, the group decides which problems to tackle. Make suggestions. Guide when necessary. But create the impression that they’re making the decision.

Problems can be of a positive nature

Not all the problems must concern things that are wrong. Some may be of a positive nature. The following are positive rather than negative:
“What can dealers do to get more business via the telephone?”
“How can better use be made of direct mail?”
“How can customer service be improved?”
“What new promotions would be timely and profitable?”
“What additional items could be merchandised successfully?”
MOST PEOPLE WILL SUGGEST PROBLEMS THAT ARE NEGATIVE
But a natural tendency is to suggest problems of a negative nature. Here are a few:
“What can be done about the price cutting of our competitors?”
“How can breakage in transit be reduced?”
“How can travel costs of salesmen be lowered?”
“How can accidents be prevented?”
“What can be done about Smithfield Company’s complaint?”
Prior to the workshop, determine which problems are most pressing. Advance information can be quite helpful. For one thing, it indicates whether there’ll be too many negative problems.
There should be a healthy balance between the positive and negative. This produces better morale and a more effective workshop. You may find it advisable to prepare a few positive problems. They can be thrown into the hopper to offset the usual barrage of negativism.

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

Tags: sales meeting

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