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Your Weekly Sales Meeting: WIIFY?
It was noted in our previous post that
the best sales or team meetings must be value-added for both management and the team.
If you're wondering "what's in it for you" (WIIFY) as a member of management, here are a few thoughts:
- Assessment
a key opportunity to assess the team all at once, and identify the best opportunities for leveraging their collective effort. - Team building
we can't build team spirit if we don't regularly "assemble" the team. - Team motivation
many people will go the extra mile for the team; but we can't leverage team motivation if we only interact with the people on an individual basis. - Thought leadership
driving a high-performance culture begins with helping people focus on the right things, and publicly identifying / reaffirming core values. - Education
every meeting should have an educational component, hopefully based on the status of your organization's sales-to-date and relevant issues of the day; and let's not forget that "the wisdom is often in the room." Sharing best practices in a public forum not only provides highly-credible education, but also allows successful team members an opportunity to shine in front of their peers.
Your Weekly Sales Meeting?
Sales managers and executives often ask about the value of running sales or team meetings, and we've found quite a bit of variation with respect to frequency, structure and effectiveness. Thus a short series on the value and best practices associated with sales team meetings.
From a ROI perspective, it only stands to reason that an organization must run effective team or sales meetings in order to experience gains. If these meetings are poorly executed, it's only a matter of time before they are pronounced non-productive and unnecessary; in which case, many opportunities are forever lost!
So, the first step is to assess the quality of your organization's
sales meetings... here are five key areas to consider:
- Preparation - do
you have a strategic plan, identified purpose, goals and objectives for
your organization's meetings? Does someone (Sales Manager, VP of Sales,
etc.) take the responsibility seriously and allocate the necessary time for
planning each meeting? Is an agenda created? If so, is it shared?
- Scheduling - are
meetings held on a regular basis... either weekly or bi-weekly? Are
meetings held on the same day and at the same time each week or every two
weeks? Are meetings conducted at least twice per month? Are meetings run out of "habit" versus value-added need?
- Value - the best
meetings must be value-added for both management and the team, so
protocols for exchanging relevant information must be incorporated in each
agenda; each meeting should include an educational component that is based
on the organization's current situation, and that educates both management
and the sales team on issues that are pertinent to each (more on this in future posts)
- Measurement - do
you measure the effectiveness of each meeting? Are action items a
component of each agenda and, if so, is there consistent follow-through?
Are sales people held accountable? Does management hold themselves
accountable?
- Continuous
Improvement - how can you make your organization's meetings better? How
can you leverage the time spent in preparation and execution to enhance
your competitive edge?
Next post: the value proposition; or, WIIFY?
Time Management Yields More than Just "Time"
As noted in our previous post, the beginning of a new year is when many of us engage in various self-improvement initiatives, such as making better use of time.
If you've been working on time management, you might also like to consider or quantify some of the byproducts, one of which is the impact better time management might have on your workplace.
For example, improving managerial time management and process-related time management across an enterprise or department can increase job satisfaction, as team members will encounter fewer bottlenecks and find themselves reaching new levels of accomplishment. This heightened level of job satisfaction often leads to a more engaged workforce, which is a critical component of a high-performance culture.
If you find this concept of interest, here's some added perspective on how time management can help you develop a high-performance culture and positively impact growth.
The Next Step in Communication
Time management is a popular topic this time of year, as 'tis the season for New Year's resolutions and self improvement...
As noted in one of our 2011 posts, a good way to save time AND increase the pace of business is to develop a more proactive communication style. Or, more simply stated, become practiced at the art of clearly identifying specific "next steps" in business or business development conversations.
Suggesting and/or confirming who will do what, and when, can significantly shorten sales as well as project cycles, and boost productivity for all. If you'd like a more in-depth perspective, you might appreciate this related and thought-provoking article from process improvement experts at Conway Management Company; read on...
Satisfied Customers
"The primary purpose of any business is to get customers and keep them,," say many experts.
When reading this perspective, most of us tend to think first of our "external" customers. Understandable, for sure! And if this is where your thoughts lean, here are seven steps your organization might take to increase customer satisfaction.
However, some people also think about how this viewpoint applies to "internal" customers 
co-workers who, at one time or another, are customers of one another.
co-workers who, at one time or another, are customers of one another. If this is a topic of interest, here are some additional thoughts you might find helpful.
Sales Management KPI in 2012
Organizations of all types commonly use Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to evaluate their success or the success of a particular activity in which they are engaged. Similarly, an important part of sales management involves making sure the sales team is working on the right things and allocating a sufficient amount of time to key activities.
Yet statistics consistently show that, on average, sales people spend much less time selling than their leaders would like (related article). Here are five things sales managers might do to help their sales force better-manage time and spend more of it on key performance activities:
- Set standards for call volume and frequency
- Conduct a work study to benchmark current reality
i.e., determine the number of hours per day, on average, your sales people spend selling versus other things such as traveling, meetings, administrative work or training. Publicize results and measure performance going forward using the standards in item #1 as a guide - Help sales people formulate and execute effective territory management and account management plans
- Provide the sales team with appropriate administrative support
- Streamline order input processes
New Business Development in 2012
As each new year arrives, people in all walks of life will make New Year’s resolutions.
In the business world, many of us will resolve to pursue revenue growth in one way or another, and our hearts will tell us that this year we’ll succeed; our intentions will be good!
However, it is commonly said that the road to “you know where” is paved with these good intentions!
While we recognize the long-term importance of developing new business, it is very easy to spend our time responding to urgent demands and fire-fighting, often at the expense of allocating time to the oh-so-important process of developing new business...
If you’d like to take measures to avoid this oh-so-typical situation 
that is, to avoid sacrificing the important in favor of the urgent, here are five ideas for keeping this year’s new business development resolutions alive and well:
- Set both “result” and “activity” goals. Many of us will plan on increasing sales by X%, but fail to also set the activity goals that will generate the desired result. These may include making an extra number of sales contacts each day, attending a certain number of networking events each week or planning more customer retention meetings each month.
- Schedule the activities identified in step #1. Research indicates that things entered into calendars are less likely to be “postponed” or procrastinated due to other demands on our time.
- Keep score. Goal achievement will require documentation and consistent implementation.
- Measure both progress and results; hold yourself and the team accountable for not only completing action steps, but also for assessing the effectiveness of each step. Make improvements or refine the approach as necessary; and be careful to avoid the usually-inaccurate conclusion that, “if the activities don’t produce the desired gains, then these activities are a waste of time!” Instead, if outcomes fall short, it’s better to reexamine execution.
- Hold yourself personally accountable for steps 1 through 4; lead the way!
Call a Lot of People
Continuing with the "Red" Motley theme of our previous two posts, the third component of his famous and concise definition of the selling process is, "Call a lot of people."
True to form, Motley was known for his conciseness and, like the other parts of his quote, this segment says a great deal in only a few words; and it brings about an important question: when involved in professional selling, does call volume matter?
We believe the answer is a most definite, "Yes!"
This perspective does not mean that the answer to sales success is simply to make a lot of sales calls. However, making a sufficient number of sales calls is as important as knowing our customers and our product; it is the basis on which long-term success is built because without sufficient call volume and frequency we miss opportunities and leave ourselves vulnerable to the competition.
But "call a lot of people" does not mean calling the same people over-and-over again; it's important to call many different people 
a healthy mix of customers and prospects 
and to make each call "value-added." Simply making the call is never enough; we must have a value-added message and we must have a plan.
a healthy mix of customers and prospects and to make each call "value-added." Simply making the call is never enough; we must have a value-added message and we must have a plan. It's also important to keep score! In other words, as sales professionals we should know exactly how many sales calls we make, on average, each day. As noted in a related article, our research indicates this simple yet important piece of data has too often become a missing link due to over-reliance on CRM and SFA systems.
Maybe author Jack Falvey summed it up best when he said, "Want more sales? Make more calls!"
Know Your Product
In last week's post we referenced Arthur "Red" Motley's most famous quote. Perhaps his second-most recognized adage is his simple fifteen-word definition of the selling process, which is, "Know your customer; know your product; call a lot of people; ask all to buy."
A recent Paul Charles & Associates' newsletter contains an article about the opening line of Motley's definition. So today let's add some perspective on the second component, "Know your product."
Knowing our product means that we understand not only the features of our product or service, but also, and more importantly, the benefits... the specific way or ways in which our customers will benefit.
Having worked with many people over the years who have tried to master this simple feat, let me assure you that this, like many things in business and in life, is simple but not easy!
When thinking about whatever it is that your organization sells, ask yourself, "How do our customers BENEFIT?" Why should they buy our product or service...? What's in it for them?
Many people find that when they share their quick answers to these questions, their customers are secretly thinking, "So what!" In other words, the "quick answers" are usually the features, not the benefits... and features alone seldom "sell."
It is sometimes easier if we switch roles... imagine YOU are the customer, and someone else is telling you about their product or service. What might they need to say in order for you to feel their product or service truly addresses your needs... that their product or service has a benefit or benefits you want and value?
When they share real benefits you will know... when they share features, it's a likely bet you to will be thinking, "So what!"
When we have mastered the ability of describing the things our organization sells in terms of the benefits (rather than just the features), then we truly know our product.
Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something
"Nothing happens until somebody sells something, said "Red" Motley.
Often referred to as the greatest salesman ever born, Arthur H. (Red) Motley was a onetime Fuller Brush salesman who went on to become one of the nation's most highly-regarded sales trainers and motivational speakers.
He served as chairman of the marketing division of President Eisenhower's Conference on Small Business, president and chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, president of Sales & Marketing Executives International and, ultimately, president ofParade Magazine, a fledgling publication that he turned into a tremendous national success, increasing circulation by ten-fold to over twenty million.
While his sales and marketing accomplishments were many, Red was best known for his pithy quotes 
in particular, the one noted above, which served as a theme for many of his speaking engagements. It is still used frequently today, some three decades after his death, and is recognized as a valid business proverb that is consistent with his belief that a sales force is vital to the success of any business.
We couldn't agree more!
