We are in the middle of our Maximizing Customer Meetings Sales Team Meeting Agenda series.  To enhance the series, we’ve called on some top selling experts to share their strategies for maximizing customer meetings.  This post is brought to us by Mary Donato, President at Applied Principles, a sales and marketing professional services firm that helps Fortune 1000 companies achieve sales and marketing excellence.

(To subscribe to receive weekly sales team meeting agendas like Maximizing Customer Meetings, visit us HERE.)

Pre-Call Planning for Success

By Mary Donato

Every salesperson would like to have more appointments with more decision-makers. The reality is, these are relatively rare events—particularly with regard to the C-suite.

So once you do get that all-important meeting set up, how much time do you spend preparing for it? The majority of sales calls are won or lost before the salesperson even steps into the client’s office. This is due to the amount of time spent planning for the call. Pre-call planning is one of the most critical steps before any important client meeting. It can take 15 minutes, or even days, depending upon the complexity and importance of the business to your company and goals.

In spite of its critical importance, pre-call planning is a relatively simple endeavor. Here are six steps to incorporate into your own planning process:

Read the rest…

(To get a 60-Minute Sales Team Meeting Agenda on Objection Strategy with Role Plays, visit our STORE.)

As salespeople, we hear objections, pushbacks and questions during a sales cycle.  Our goal must always be to provide our customers with the best possible solutions to get them the results they desire.  With that in mind, it is our responsibility to effectively address objections and pushbacks.  By “effectively address”, I mean that we need to be prepared for our most common questions or objections and make sure we understand what is driving the concern.  We must get to the real need or issue that the objection is raising.  Only when we thoroughly address issues can the customer make the best possible decision about what is best for their company.

To do this, a salesperson must first identify all the objections they hear.  It is helpful to list these by stage of the sales cycle.  For example, create a chart that lists the steps in your sales cycle from suspect to negotiation and then list the objections you typically hear at each stage of the sales cycle.

Then, based on the stage of the sales cycle, determine why they may have that objection, concern or question.  What might be driving that concern or objection (they are afraid the solution costs too much, they work with your competitor already, they really don’t have authority to take it any further, etc).

Then, determine the best way to learn the reason behind the objection.  What questions will you ask?  How will you communicate in a way that does not cause the customer to become defensive?  How can you open them up to share their thoughts behind the concern?

Now, that you have gone through this exercise for each objection you hear, you are prepared for the next time those objections arise – and you know they will.  You’ll actually look forward to addressing these objections as an important part of helping your customer make great decisions for them and their company.  In many cases, you’ll be able to address the objection before they even raise it.

Being prepared to help our customers is our responsibility as sales professionals.  So, we know we get objections and pushbacks. There is no excuse for not being prepared for them.

Look forward to objections this week!

(To download the Objection Strategy & Role Plays Sales Team Meeting Agenda, visit our STORE here.  This 60-Minute Sales Team Meeting Agenda will leave your sales team with a strategy for handling your most common objections leaving them more equipped to win that very day.)

We at Meeting to Win are big fans of Paul Castain and his work.  During our 3-week Sales Team Meeting Agenda series on Maximizing Customer Meetings we thought you may enjoy Paul’s thougths on starting your meetings with impact. 

Starting Your Meetings with Impact

by Paul Castain of Sales Playbook

OK, pop quiz. How long does it take to make an impression on someone? 30 seconds? 10? Less? …
Here’s something that you can do in your very next client/prospect meeting …

Read the rest here.

(This Friday Meeting to Win continues a 3-week series called Maximize Customer Meetings – Before, During and After.  To join us, subscribe here.)

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As we discussed in our recent post, Maximize Customer Meetings, Part 1: Before the Meeting, customer meetings are the goal of most of our sales activity. Those meetings launch sales cycles, move deals along and turn opportunities into signed deals.  It makes sense that we spend time preparing for these and executing them effectively.

We’ve already discussed best practices before the customer meeting.  After years of trial and error, here are a few practices I’ve used during customer meetings to maximize this limited and valuable time with a customer.

• Typically, you only have 30 minutes with a customer – longer if you are later in the sales cycle… maybe.  I don’t waste a lot of time on “rapport building”.  It is in my best interest to get down to business.  I’ve never been into forced friendships anyway.  I think real relationships just take time to develop no matter how hard you push them.  So, there is nothing wrong with jumping right in and getting to business.  The rapport gets built as you work together and build trust in each other.  It takes time, but it’s more genuine.
• To start off the meeting, I use a pre-planned, pre-rehearsed opening statement to remind them about the good reason they decided to meet with me. I take them through the goal of our meeting and the agenda, both of which I sent before our meeting.  I ask if they agree with the plan for our meeting and if they have anything topics they’d like to add to our agenda. 
• Throughout the meeting I keep us on track with time checks, marking items off our list and setting next steps.
• I leave about 5 minutes at the end to recap our meeting and action items (this will be covered again in Part 3 of Maximize Customer Meetings).
• I set our next meeting or conversation based on our action items.

Customers appreciate it when we use their time wisely.  It is nice to invest 30-60 minutes and see real, tangible outcomes.

Sales Team Meeting Idea:

• Ask your team to come to the next sales team conference call with information about 2 upcoming customer meetings. 
• During this meeting, create opening scripts to use to set the tone for a productive meeting that makes helps maximize the time together.
• Rehearse these scripts during the meeting and give each other feedback.
• Assign a Fieldwork Assignment.  Ask each rep to use their opening script in those two upcoming meetings and report back to the team on the productivity of the meeting.

Next week we’ll discuss Part 3, After the Meeting.  Have a great selling week.

(For more indepth sales team meeting training exercises on topics like this one and many others, subscribe to Meeting to Win.  Each week, Sales Managers receive a new 60-minute agenda full of training, exercises, discussion topics and practice drills.  Teams can leave their Monday Morning Meetings motivated and equipped.  Join us here.)

Great weekly sales team meetings can be powerful Sales Performance Engines.  Is yours?  If not, there might be a quick fix to take your team to higher and higher heights. 

Take the assessment to determine if there is room to improve your weekly sales team meeting. 

Sales Team Meeting Assessment:  Is There Room for Improvement in Your Weekly Sales Team Meetings?

1.  My team would join my weekly sales team meeting if attendance was optional.

(A)  Yes

(B)   No

2.  I, the Sales Manager, am talking more than 50% of the meeting time.

(A)  Less than 50% – Others are talking the other 50%

(B)   Yes, I do most of the talking.

3.  We set a clear goal for our sales team meetings and leave knowing if we accomplished that goal or not?

(A) Yes, our meetings have a purpose and a clear goal.

(B)  No, our meetings do not have a clear objective.

4.  In our sales team meetings, everyone is expected to contribute and actively participate?

(A) Yes.  Our sales team meetings are a team effort.  We see it as everyone’s resposibility to use this time wisely.

(B)  No, sometimes I think people are checking email during the meeting.

5.  Everyone leaves each meeting with a new idea to try or a new skill to practice in the field that week.

(A) Yes, our meetings equip our teams to sell more that very week.

(B)  No.  We usually just go over numbers and hear what everyone accomplished last week.

6.  My sales team meeting agenda is sent in advance so everyone can prepare for a great meeting.

(A)  Yes.

(B)  We do not have an agenda and, if we do, it is not sent in advance.

7.  My sales team meeting topics

(A) Are relevant to our current selling environment – challenges, initiatives and goals.

(B) Are the same every week.

8.  My sales team would say our weekly sales team meeting is a great use of their time.

(A) Yes!

(B)  Probably not.  I’d be afraid to ask.

If you find yourself marking (B) to any of the above questions, there is probably room for improvement in the way you execute your sales team meetings.  This blog lists many resources -articles and tools – to improve your sales team meetings.   Of course, Meeting to Win is happy to help, also.  Contact us to set up a consultation.  We’ll be happy to provide some guidance and point you to the tools available to begin using your sales meetings as sales engines.

(This post brought to you by sales team meeting expert, Jill Myrick of Meeting to Win.  Meeting to Win provides weekly sales team meeting agendas and best practices to turn your sales team meetings into sales performance engines. Join us by subscribing here.)

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In most cases, we see an official “performance plan” as the beginning of the end for some poor sales rep.  The performance plan seems to be more of a termination plan as the evidence suggests that the goal is often not better performance, but instead a way to begin documentation to justify termination.  In every case where I’ve seen someone put on a performance plan, that was their cue to start a full court press job search before they were fired.   

So, it’s safe to say that no sales rep wants to be put on a performance plan, right?  Right!

If you are a sales rep facing underperformance, my guess is that you are worried about your job.  You might be hoping no one has noticed, you might spend your time sharing the positive news while keeping everyone’s focus off the negative performance, you might be explaining away your bad sales (customer budget cuts, etc) or.. you might even be job hunting.

Here is something to try instead.  Put yourself on a Performance Plan.   This is a Turnaround Boot Camp style Performance Plan by the way. 

We know that we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That really is the premise of a Performance Plan. 

To get started:

• Look at what you have been doing and critically analyze exactly how you are spending your time to determine what is producing results and what is not. 
• Consult with team members who are exceeding goals for advice on what you could be doing differently. 
• Once you determine which of your sales activities are producing positive sales results, triple your output of those activities.
• Figure out where you are investing time in non-selling activities (learning a new CRM, sitting on an internal committee, etc) and eliminate those activities from your week. You can politely request to be excused – if you get fired, none of those things will really matter anyway.
• Start your day earlier and end your day later.
• Look the part. 
• Exercise, eat right and get enough sleep.
• Write out your 30 day plan.  This should include day by day what you will be doing and with which customers or prospects.  For example, maybe every day starts with 50 cold calls, maybe Sundays are research days, Tues-Thurs is for 15 face-to-face appointments, etc. 
• Have an accountability plan in place – a report, updates in your CRM or something to monitor your progress.
• Have a clear goal for the end of 30 days and a way to monitor progress along the way.

Now, here’s key element:

Request a meeting with your Sales Manager – NOT during selling hours (you need those).  Have an early coffee or after hours meeting with your Sales Manager to let them know you have put yourself on a Performance Plan, walk them through it and get their input to fine tune it and gain agreement on your course of action. 

By proactively addressing your underperformance with your Sales Manager you will open the doors of communication regarding expectations and possible outcomes of underperformance.  You will show the initiative to address the problem proactively giving your Sales Manager an opportunity to help you succeed instead of look for a way to manage you out.  

Too often we keep moving along hoping no one will bring up the issue everyone knows exists (we do this with customers, too).  If you know you are underperforming, your sales manager knows it, too.  His boss will ask him about it and it will eventually be dealt with.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could change the story by being brave enough to call it out and proactively do something about it? 

So, if you find yourself falling short, stop worrying and start acting.  Build you plan ASAP and start executing with your Sales Manager’s support.

Put yourself on a Performance Plan today.

(Post brought to you by Jill Myrick, CEO of Meeting to Win.   Meeting to Win provides sales team meeting topics for Sales Managers who want to run sales team meetings that aren’t a bore.  Inspire your team with Meeting to Win.  Subscribe here.)

(This Friday Meeting to Win begins a 3-week series called Maximize Customer Meetings – Before, During and After.  To join us, subscribe here.)

 As sales professionals we spend a lot of time talking about, reporting on and pursuing … customer meetings.  It makes sense to spend considerable time preparing for these somewhat rare opportunities.  One bad meeting with a client and it may be the last time you ever see them – or at the very least you may get delegated to someone without as much authority.  A good meeting and it could be the beginning of a great relationship.  So, life or death?  Close!

Now, you’ve got the meeting – Congratulations.  What next? 

Today, we will focus on one aspect of meeting preparation to maximize your customer meeting - involve your customer in meeting preparation.  Too often sales professionals don’t include their customers in building the agenda or working toward the meeting goal. What happens instead is that the salesperson shows up with the same slides or brochure they use on every first meeting and the customer sits back waiting for the show.  Years and years of sales meetings have taught sales reps to perform and customers to spectate.  As a customer, I have actually enjoyed some of these shows.  Salespeople can really dazzle.  The problem is that I am allowed to be lazy, watch the show and see if anything intrigues me enough to move forward.  I am not prepared to act or prompted to action.  Before I learned how to be a better buyer I saw some amazing shows, with many performers.  One of those performances was from a company who wanted to build our sales team’s intranet.  They never got a dime of business, but I got a lot of great shows.  If I had been asked to get involved in the process at any point, they would have wasted a lot less of everyone’s time.  That experience taught me to be a better customer and get involved even when I wasn’t asked.  As a salesperson, it taught me to get the buyer in on the work.

Here is something I began to do with great success.  Not only did I have productive meetings, I also consolidated sales cycle steps, met more decision makers and built trust and rapport.  You can try it and see if you get the same results. 

At your next customer meeting, ask the customer to share the responsibility for a productive meeting.   Send them an agenda is advance with the goal for the meeting along with an agenda to follow.  Ask them for their input on the goal and agenda for the meeting.  Once you both agree upon how you will spend your time together it is both parties responsibility to bring the data, people or anything else that will help get the meeting goal accomplished. 

Now, you are sharing responsibility for a great meeting that uses everyone’s time wisely and gets everyone working toward the same goal – helping that company.  You are a partner instead of a vendor.

Sales Team Meeting Agenda Idea:

• Ask each rep to bring information about all upcoming customer meetings.
• For each meeting, ask each rep to share the desired outcome or goal of that meeting.
• Ask each rep to share how they plan to accomplish this outcome (this will be the agenda).
• Determine what responsibility the customer has in meeting the goal of the meeting.
• Ask each rep to choose one meeting and write an e-mail script for sharing the meeting goal and agenda and asking for the customer’s agreement and/or input on the goal and agenda.
• Share the script with the team for feedback.
• Revise the scripts based on feedback and try this before the customer meeting.
• Plan to report back on the outcome of using the e-mail scripts before customer meetings
• (To get more in-depth sales team meeting exercises along with full agendas, sample scripts, field work assignments and sales tips, visit Meeting to Win and subscribe for weekly sales team meeting agendas and exercises.)

As we continue with Pipeline Health Check week, we want to address risks in pipelines.  If you know your risks, you can reduce the risks or at least manage them more effectively.  As you examine your pipeline this week, check for these risks:

• A large percentage of the revenue in your pipeline is from one deal.
• You are not positioned with decision makers in late cycle pipeline opportunities.
• Your pipeline is heavy on early or late sales cycle deals – no balance.
• You have not added new “suspect” opportunities to your pipeline consistently.
• In mid-cycle deals you do not have a crystal clear picture of the decision process and who is involved and in what capacity at each decision point.
• You haven’t discussed money in mid and late cycle opportunities.
• You don’t know the competitive landscape in most of your opportunities.
• Your pipeline does not have at least 3X your sales goal in opportunities.
• You have deals that have stalled out with no progress forward in a few weeks.
• You are guessing at the size of opportunities instead of basing it on real diagnosis.
• You are chasing deals that are not in your company’s sweet spot.

These are just a few of the risks to look for as you examine your pipeline.  Know your risks and take steps to minimize them – the smallest steps can make the biggest difference when pursuing sales performance goals.

Sales Team Meeting Idea:

At your next sales team meeting,

• Ask your team to bring their pipelines.
• Go through each of the risks above as a group. 
• Add risks to the list that apply to your team.
• Ask each person to honestly assess their pipeline against the final list of risks.
• As a team, set one action item each person can do to minimize their most dangerous pipeline risk.
• Plan to follow up as a team and do this exercise again, setting the next action item as you move toward healthier and healthier pipelines.

Meeting to Win provides in-depth sales team meeting agendas with training exercises, practice sessions, discussion topics and ideas to help your sales team sell more.  This Friday’s agenda is the Pipeline Health Check and will lead your team through exercises that will lead to more balanced, healthier pipelines.  Join us and get your own weekly sales team meeting agendas.  Learn more  here.

(Meeting to Win provides new sales team meeting agendas for sales managers every week.  The agenda that goes out to subscribers this Friday is called Pipeline Health Check.  To learn more about weekly sales team meeting agendas, visit us at http://www.meetingtowin.com/.  To download the Pipeline Health Check sales team meeting agenda, visit our store here.)

Is your pipeline healthy?  When you get your annual physical, the doctor is checking your blood pressure, weight, etc.  They know what healthy looks like and they are looking at you to determine how healthy you are.  The same can be done with your sales pipeline.  Here is the difference.  Often salespeople don’t have a clear definition of a healthy pipeline to compare theirs to.  Often the definition is incomplete.  The most popular one I’ve dealt with is “3 times your goal”.  Well, that is somewhat helpful, but who knows if what I have is realistic or just my hopes and dreams – and a way to keep my manager off my back. 

The first step to take in achieving a healthy pipeline is to understand what a healthy pipeline even looks like.  Define that first and then work toward developing a pipeline that is the picture of health.

Sales Team Meeting Idea:

• As a team, create a list of characteristics to describe a healthy pipeline (3 times your goal, relationships with key decision makers, moving at a certain pace, size of deals, etc)
• Then, each team member should look at their pipeline and provide a quick assessment of where theirs lines up (right size, etc) and wehre it  falls short (not enough deals, wrong size deals, etc).
• The team should share 1-3 ideas per salesperson on how to bring each pipeline in line with the picture of health.
• Everyone should walk away with 1-3 action items that will result in healthier pipelines across the board.
• Plan to check back in a month for another Pipeline Health Check to determine how the actions are working.
• Keep this up on a regular basis to keep pipelines strong and healthy.

(Subscribe to Meeting to Win to get more in-depth sales team meeting training exercises on topics like Pipeline Health Check, Maximize Customer Meetings, Build a Better Value Proposition, Troubleshooters and many other powerful topics.  To download the Pipeline Health Check sales team meeting agenda, visit our store here.))

I had the opportunity to work for a company that created a culture of sharing best practices.  Due to that culture, Sales Managers really developed relationships across territories and had the neatest (seriously, that’s the only word that really described it) flow of best practices.  These managers would even ask to be put on each other’s team distribution lists so they could have visibility into each other’s communication style and content (can you imagine requesting more e-mails!).

From this culture comes a sales meeting idea that should wake up Monday mornings and fit right in with our Guest Speaker spotlight this week.  Why don’t you and another Sales Manager trade teams for a week?  Lead each other’s sales team meeting, conduct one-on-ones and get out in the field with each other’s team.  Get together the next week and share observations, lessons you learned and ideas to improve.  Then, discuss those lessons with your team on your next sales team conference call.

This is fun, enlightening and energizing for both teams and both Sales Managers.  Keep it interesting – trade teams next week.

(Meeting to Win provides sales team meeting agendas and sales team meeting topics for Sales Managers who like to provide sales training and development weekly.  Visit us here:  http://www.meetingtowin.com/)