Running Effective Sales Meetings

Sales meetings get bad press!

Many people think they are a waste of good selling time, many more think they are boring – and in many cases they are both these things.

Yet they don’t need to be either, and in fact should be one of the most important and productive events of the week for both the sales team and the sales manager.

The objectives of a sales meeting include the following:

1. Two-way communication

a. what the sales team needs to know about the team, the market, proposals available and revenue status and expectations.

b. What the Sales Manager needs to know about what is happening in the field with competitive activity and trends, acceptance of sales proposals in the market, attitude and motivation of the sales team.

2. Some form of training, knowledge building or personal development – even if this is something which only takes a couple of minutes.

3. Team and individual motivation – the team should leave the meeting more enthused and more positive than they were when they went in to the meeting.

4. A forum for exchange of ideas and views among all those present, leading to improved knowledge, mutual respect, better team building and morale.

When Should They be Held?

There are no hard and fast rules on this one. It is very much based on individual preference and how your sales team works, however there are some considerations when determining the time.

Frequency

Some Sales teams like to hold daily sales meetings, however it is very difficult to sustain enthusiasm for these and they tend to just become a "whip-around" of what everyone is doing that day, or what they did yesterday. Holding daily sales meetings means it is usually necessary to have one "major" sales meeting each week which has more substance. Weekly sales meetings appear to be the industry standard.

Day of the Week

Most sales meetings seem to be held on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays and there are reasons and benefits for each of these. With Mondays being the start of the week, a positive sales meeting can remind the team of what is happening at the office and get the team motivated for the week ahead. Wednesdays are popular days for sales meetings because it provides the opportunity to monitor how the week is progressing, with the team already having been in the field for two days. It also gives the opportunity to adjust what may be needed for the remainder of the week. Wednesdays also avoid long weekends. Fridays present the opportunity to review the whole week, however from a motivational viewpoint there is a big gap between Friday and when the team are back in the field on Monday.

All the best with your sales teams!

Running Effective Sales Meetings

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