I read this article by Joe Calloway (writing on Jeffrey's Gitomer's site. The items in this article should not be read as "hard and fast". But, in a world of too many things to do, these can help you ensure you don't waste your time or someone else's. Of course, using Salestrakr as your CRM is key!
Here are some good do's and don'ts related to sales meetings (per Mr. Calloway).
- Only have a meeting if it advances your strategy.
- Don't meet for the meeting's sake. ONLY if it advances your strategy.
- Make your meeting simple and accountable. The meeting is an asset. Don't waste it.
Joe goes on to illustrate how best to have great meetings by listing meeting mistakes:
- Having a meeting just because you always have a meeting.
- Going into the meeting without stated objectives and a clearly defined outcome
- Putting more focus on what leadership wants to say rather than what the team needs to hear.
- Overloading the agenda without giving participants time to network, process what they’re hearing, and discuss action steps.
- Focusing on only one mode of communicating (i.e. a podium parade of talking heads) as opposed to looking at multiple ways to communicate and engage the audience.
- Poor coordination and communication between/among speakers, resulting in conflicting messages or unnecessary repetition.
- Making no provision for building on the meeting’s objectives and goals after the event. Structuring the meeting so that the audience is completely passive, not allowing them to interact and affect the meeting and its content.
If you want to know more about Joe Calloway and his company Engage, please visit them here.
