| As a sales manager, you have to be able to | | | | meetings is they are boring. Make sure you keep |
| conduct an effective sales staff meeting. Staff | | | | the meeting as fun as possible. A sales meeting is |
| meetings are a great opportunity to provide sales | | | | not the time to go into administrative issues and |
| team training and discuss vital issues with your | | | | how to fill out the paperwork correctly. You can |
| team. Yet, some managers hold very effective | | | | set up a separate training for those issues that is |
| sales staff meetings, while others hold meetings | | | | separate from the sales meeting. A sales meeting |
| that are dreaded by their sales teams. What is | | | | should be high energy, high impact, as short as |
| the difference between an effective meeting and | | | | possible, and fun. |
| a meeting that is perceived as a waste of time? | | | | If you are going to have a trainer at the sales |
| The difference is in what you get accomplished at | | | | meeting, make sure that any sales team training |
| the meeting. | | | | is done on relevant topics. The closer the topic is |
| All meetings should have a productive purpose. So | | | | related to helping the sales person sell more |
| what is the purpose of a sales staff meeting? | | | | business or make more commissions, the better |
| The purpose should be to provide your team with | | | | that topic. For sales team training, you can cover |
| the information and motivation that they need to | | | | topics such as how to get referrals, how to |
| sell better. As you draft the agenda of the | | | | handle objections, how to make effective |
| meeting you want to include anything that is going | | | | presentations. You can also have the top |
| to help your sales team be more effective in the | | | | members of your team give these trainings too. |
| sales process. | | | | Another great topic to cover in a sales staff |
| Recognition is very important in running any sales | | | | meeting is success stories. Sales professionals |
| organization. Some people will do more for the | | | | love to talk about stories from the field. Some |
| recognition than they would do for the | | | | stories can deal with some of the frustrations |
| commission. With this in mind, one of the most | | | | that are funny now (but may not have been |
| productive components of the sales meeting | | | | funny at the time they were happening). Other |
| agenda is to recognize your team. Obviously, you | | | | stories can deal with major challenges that a sales |
| want to recognize the top producer. If you set a | | | | person on the team was able to overcome. |
| goal for your team and they met that goal, | | | | Success stories keep the team engaged, are a |
| recognize the entire team for meeting the goal. | | | | great way to teach, and keep the meeting |
| Have recognition for different things so the same | | | | interesting. |
| people are not recognized all the time. If you are | | | | Your sales team meeting can be a very |
| able to recognize a few people, the rest of the | | | | productive event for your team or a big waste |
| team will strive to be recognized at the next | | | | of time. If you invest the time and effort |
| meeting. | | | | necessary to create an effective meeting, it will |
| One of the biggest complaints about sales | | | | pay off in the long run. |