How to Run a Great Sales Meeting

March 23, 2008  Chicago, IL:    “You don’t need to be a sales superstar to organize and run an effective sales meeting,” stated Phil Carney, Beacon and Company’s National Sales Director.  “You just need to follow a four step process for success.”

Carney made his comments during a March 13, 2008 Webcast entitled, Run Your Best Sales Meetings Ever!  hosted by OnsiteConference, Inc. a privately held research marketing firm located in Tampa, Florida.

Carney observed that branch managers, in increasing numbers, must assume a formal role of sales coach in addition to their routine duties.  “The pressure for sales success appropriately falls to the branch for good reasons.”  Carney explained, “According to a 2005 report from the consulting firm, Novantas, top banking organizations distinguish themselves through a consistent sales process that relies more upon ground-level execution than strategy.” 

“On the front-line, the top performers exhibit two behaviors to greater extent than others.  First, they acknowledge customers as soon as they walk into a branch.  Second, they probe for needs.” Carney concluded, “It’s the branch manager, not the training department, who makes certain that the sales process works.”

Carney added, “Managers must be experts in operations and compliance, and also provide an on-going example of excellent customer service.”  He feels that when it comes to sales coaching, more often than not, managers are not provided adequate training.   “Managers, just like most of the other employees, still have a ‘fear factor’ around the word ‘sales.’”

Even in banks with established sales cultures, the reality is that many if not most managers find it difficult to carve out several hours out of the week to prepare a sales meeting for their team. “Also, most staff meetings need to cover a lot of issues, which leaves little time to focus on sales,” Carney commented. 

“To overcome the time constraints, managers must be highly organized.  To help them, we recommend a four step process for success,” offered Carney, “which we refer to as, Preparation, Conducting the Meeting, Gaining Commitment, and Coaching Follow-up.

First, select and organize your sales meeting around a specific topic or sales skill.  Identify your objective, what you want people to get learn from the session.  Use real-life situations to illustrate your topic.  “For example,” offered Carney, “Discuss competitors’ strategies, or specific market opportunities and threats.  Discuss new retail or commercial developments in town.”

Second, find ways to involve staff. “You might ask them, to bring in competitor ads or mailings.  Or, ask them to take a product, and present features and benefits,” suggested Carney.  Take advantage of the staff’s knowledge and experience by involving everyone. Ask for their recommendations for scripts, or what they might anticipate as objections. 

“A proven method for involving staff is to give out assignments for the next meeting,” Carney offered.  “Staff assignments can be critical to the success of the meeting as it helps to get involvement, keep involvement up between meetings, and give a focus for the next meeting.”

Said Carney, “Working together as a team to build sales capabilities helps to reduce the fear factor that can be a part of selling.”  The process of involving team members, encouraging and coaching, not only reinforces the manager’s role as a leader, but can improve staff retention.

“Bottom line, the benefit of involving staff is their improved morale and 'buy-in,'” observed Carney.

When it comes to conducting effective meetings, what the manager needs to accomplish is to define a series of specific behaviors and expectations that are understood by everyone on the team.

“Where the rubber meets the road,” offered Carney, “is asking for and getting commitment to the sales and service behaviors you expect.” 

Managers have to challenge staff members to make the sales effort.  “Whether the behavior you want is to make referrals within the team, or to use certain sales phrases, you need to ask for and gain staff commitment.

Commitment is really made at two levels, what you ask staff to do, and what you do to support your staff.  “For instance, the manager can invite product specialists to speak at meetings.  Or, the manager could post in the break room a competitor’s ad and write key benefit statements that offer your bank’s advantages,” Carney added.

“If there was one ‘best practice’ with regards to needs-based selling, it’s getting commitment and coaching,” stated Carney.

Coaching, the third process of effective sales meetings, involves, but goes beyond, recognizing and acknowledging “doing a good job.”  Coaching is a process of providing encouragement, regaining commitment, and holding staff accountable for the commitments made.  “Coaching may be as simple as checking in with staff at the end of the day to ask what’s working or not,” said Carney.

The fourth process, Results and Measurement, involves comparing results to goals.  The manager may ask staff to evaluate the outcome of doing a process or a specific behavior, which offers an opportunity to provide on-the-spot or peer coaching. 
“Be certain to recognize top performers and be willing to adjust the game plan to facilitate commitment and better results,” Carney concluded.

Beacon and Company, a consultancy focusing on facilitating organization cultural change, features Sales Coach, a proven, easy-to-use online sales management program.  Sales Coach builds upon technology to tap into the sales and sales management capabilities already available in-house.  Using Sales Coach a branch manager can reduce the time it takes to prepare a sales meeting from hours to minutes. Beacon’s on-line program sustains and extends the impact of training while increasing the effectiveness of managers to coach and motivate their team. 

For more information, contact www.beaconandcompany.com or pcarney@beaconandcompany.com.

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Posted by Mark Rodrigues at 3/25/2008 2:09 PM
Categories: Sales Training
 

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