8 years ago
April 18, 2016

What You Need to do at Your Next Sales Meeting

Here’s what you need to do at your next sales meeting in order for your sales reps to leave feeling it was useful.

Rhys Metler

At any company, the sales meeting is the time and place to brainstorm new sales techniques, discuss what’s working and what isn’t, and look over the sales plans for the future. These meetings can be an invaluable source of knowledge for sales reps, and for you, too, but you need to do it right. In order for your sales reps to leave a sales meeting feeling like it was useful, there are key issues that you should address and ways to lead the meeting that provide the best results for your sales force. Here’s what you need to do at your next sales meeting:

Be Encouraging

Your employees will immediately shut down and stop being cooperative in your sales meeting if you create an air of negativity and blame. No one wants to feel like he or she is being punished. Instead, keep the atmosphere light and encouraging, and try to boost morale. Give the sales representatives the motivation and inspiring words that they need to hear in order to stay upbeat throughout the entire sales meeting and leave feeling as if it was a productive use of time.

Talk about Money

All sales reps want the same thing: to find ways to increase their commission. So make this a topic of discussion at your next sales meeting and you will be sure to grab their attention. For example, let the sales people explain successful strategies that have recently worked for them so their colleagues can take notes for future meetings.

Keep It Focused

Create an agenda and stick to it. Hand out this agenda to all the attendees so they can always keep track of the conversations happening during the meeting. What’s more, it’ll allow the sales reps to find the right times to discuss any concerns or ask any questions that they might have. The agenda ensures that no one gets off track but speaks up when it is appropriate to the topic of discussion at hand.

Talk about the Future

Your sales force is a vital part of your company’s future. Discuss the plans and strategies that you may have for the months or years coming up. They need to know where the company is headed, and no one wants to feel like he or she is being left in the dark when it comes to the company’s future, and ultimately, their own futures.

Set Aside Time for Socialization

Sales people are typically outgoing, social beings. At your sales meeting, set aside time for team building exercises or general socialization so your employees can take a break, chat, and move around. For extroverts like sales reps, sitting in a chair and focusing on someone else speaking for hours on end can be a difficult task to accomplish without getting distracted or zoning out. Plus, allowing time for socialization allows your sales reps to get to know each other better, which will foster a team attitude throughout the department.

Listen

Your sales reps are out in the field talking to clients, hearing concerns, and watching reactions. It’s likely that they have valuable knowledge that they can impart onto you in order to help you build a stronger future for your company. Don’t spend the entire sales meeting talking at your employees. Listen, too. Hear what they are saying, take notes, ask questions, and make them feel like their opinions and thoughts are important to your company, because they really are.

Reward and Recognize

Your sales team works hard bringing in money, attracting new clients, and increasing your bottom line. They should be recognized and rewarded for this hard work. Consider having a Sales Rep of the Month designation for each sales meeting, which perhaps comes with a small prize, or at least take some time to recognize and discuss the great sales that have been closed recently. Ultimately, make your sales people feel valued at the sales meeting.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

salesforce-popup