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When sales are booming and the sales force is operating without any apparent difficulties, it becomes easy for management to postpone sales meetings.
Before you know it, minor problems creep in and become major problems because the lines of communication have broken down. Regularly scheduled sales meetings—one every two weeks—can create a forum for salespeople to air problems and solve them.
These meetings should be well-planned and organized to give attendees the feeling that time is well spent. If there is idle chit chat, or a lack of follow-through on decisions, you will soon find that the sales force feels that the meetings are a waste of time.
Have a Plan
Go into your sales meeting prepared with a well-thought-out agenda. In your introduction, state the problem(s) and determine the goals of the discussion. Begin each topic by framing a question. To keep your meeting running smoothly, encourage participation by everyone—do not let one or two people monopolize the conversation. By getting everyone to participate, you get combined experience to bear on the problems.
Using visual aids, such as an easel, or a chalkboard, helps keep meetings on track, clarifies questions, ensures everyone is on the same page, and summarizes accomplishments.
When you close the meeting, summarize the group's thinking, promise them action on any problems they may have brought up, and then make certain there is follow-up.
If problems cannot be solved immediately, report at the next meeting what action has been taken to date, why there may be a delay, and when you anticipate a possible solution. The surest way to kill enthusiasm at sales meetings is to have done nothing on problems brought up previously.
If your firm is running so smoothly that your salespeople do not have any problems, you are indeed fortunate. If you are at one of these fortunate companies, there are a broad range of subjects you can build on for a meeting. You may find during these discussions that the salespeople have some problems they did not realize they had, or thought were irrelevant to the others present.
Some potential subjects to discuss might be: how to prospect; how to keep customers happy; how you can reduce selling costs; how to handle price objections; how to close sales; the necessity of sales reports; working with production; time management; sales expenses; and getting new business from old accounts.
Take to the Stage
Role-playing should be used periodically in your meetings. If it is determined that one of your salespeople has a particular problem in handling price objections, customer complaints, or something else, then develop an actual case history of the problem. Ask one of your salespeople to play the part of the customer, and the salesperson most bothered by the problem should attempt to satisfy the customer.
The salesperson playing the part of the customer brings up as many objections as possible, making it tough for the sales rep to solve. This provides an opportunity to build the confidence necessary to meet actual customers on the firing line. By listening to the dialogue, a sales manager and other sales people may have constructive criticism that will be certain to help.
Have a Production Pow-Wow
Keeping the lines of communication open between management and sales is as important as keeping them open between sales and production.
At least once a month, schedule a joint meeting with your sales people and your key production people. Each department thinks they are the most important to your operation; each believes the others have no problems. A give-and-take discussion, frank but friendly, can help everyone understand the problems of the other department.
Handling Personalities
The moderator of a sales meeting must be ever alert to stop the chronic interrupter, and to make certain no one person monopolizes the conversation.
In almost every group there are one or two people who want the center of attention, and gain this by constantly interrupting. Handle this person with care so he/she does not feel you do not want their input. If he/she starts to interrupt someone who has the floor, simply say, "Joe has the floor now, Bill. I'm sure we will all have something to add when he is finished, but for the sake of continuity, let's hear Joe out." For the long-winded person who goes on and on, the moderator should interrupt by saying something such as, "Thanks for your comments, Joe. Your points have merit."
The moderator must be careful to keep meetings democratic, and not impose his will and desires on the others. He must not use the meetings as a one-way channel of communication to deliver lectures and warnings, issue orders and reprimands, or to blow off steam.
The moderator must lead the discussion, but keep the meeting moving with participants airing their problems and suggestions. He must avoid dogmatizing and expressing personal opinions.
The confidence that all of the participants' opinions are equally respected and thoroughly discussed is the answer to a successful sales meeting. Successful sales meetings are essential to a well-run printing sales organization. Sales is the name of the game and communication is a vital part of sales; without one you do not have the other. More sales starts with communication, and properly-planned, well-organized, regularly-scheduled sales meetings make for better communication.
Whatever you do, whether you have one salesperson or 200, remember that nothing happens until somebody sells something. Good Hunting.
George's company, ProTrain, is available for special assignments in sales, sales training, and marketing. He can be reached at georgemreinfeld@juno.com.
author: By George Reinfeld