7 years ago
February 21, 2017

Succeed in a Career in Sales: 6 Habits of Highly Effective Business Meetings

Meetings are an important aspect of a sales job. Here are 6 habits of highly effective business meetings for a successful career in sales.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter
Claire McConnachie

Part of a career in sales, or any field, is the ability to speak in a concise, effective manner to your peers. This is especially true in a sales setting, where you may be responsible for managing several projects and holding meetings to explain and complete your objectives.

However, there’s a difference between a good meeting and a great meeting. After all, sales is a social business at its core. Here’s how to ensure that in a sales job, your meetings are effective.

1. Send Out an Agenda Beforehand

If everyone knows what’s going to happen throughout the meeting, it will be easier not only to stay on task, but to complete each item efficiently. Most meetings are limited to a certain amount of time, and ensuring that all sales people in the room are aware of the order of proceedings is essential.

2. Review the Attendee List

Before getting anything done, you should ensure that you have a complete list of everyone who will be attending the meeting. If, for example, a major decision needs to be made, then a manager should be present. Who is in the room can determine your meeting content.

3. Manage Your Time

Yet another reason to create a detailed agenda. Make sure every item has a time stamp next to it so you can provide adequate time to each topic within the constraints of your meeting period.

4. Prewire All Important Prompts and Decisions

If this is an important meeting, make sure everyone knows just how important it is. Send the important points out to all attendees before the meeting so everyone comes primed for those discussions.

5. Take Notes For Yourself

Even if you’re the presenter in a meeting, it’s important to take notes. Write down any suggestions or questions thrown your way and you’ll be on the path to greatness in a career in sales.

6. Follow Up on the Meeting

Just as it’s important for sales recruiters and applicants to follow up after an interview, it’s important to follow up after your meetings. Create a summary of everything that was discussed, and especially include any important points or decisions that may have been made. This ensures that everyone in attendance understood the purpose of the meeting, and opens lines of communication that may not have been present otherwise.

A career in sales and marketing is an ambitious one, and in order to make it work you need to be able to communicate and manage meetings effectively. These six tips should make your meetings some of the most effective out there.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter

Claire McConnachie

Claire has 4+ years of experience in sales and recruitment. As a Director of Client Services, her main objective is to connect great people to great companies by building strong relationships with both top clients and candidates in the sales industry. She specializes in sales roles of all seniority levels for both enterprise and start-up clients North American wide. When Claire isn't networking with top talent, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling and spending time with friends & family.

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