Sales Meeting

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Physical arrangements are a “snap” for those who can use the same room all the time. But when a different room will be used, you must be sure to inspect it. Even if it’s in the next county, inspect it.

See it before publicizing the meeting because after inspecting the room you may want to change rooms.

Perhaps you’ve used the room before. If you haven’t seen it in the past year, inspect it anyway.

This especially applies to hotel rooms, which are remodeled continually. The Sierra Room may be half the size this year, or it may be three times as large.

Names are changed, too. This year’s Sierra Room may be what you remember as the Keystone Room.

“I learned my lesson the hard way,” said a Las Vegas business man. “They had remodeled an adjacent room for a dance studio. Had I inspected the facilities, I would have known that their music would interfere with our sales meeting.”

The moral here is don’t take anything for granted.

meeting sample

Sales Meeting Information

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If you need a large room for your sales meeting you will want to check out the possible venues carefully.  The best room is a little longer than wide and has no columns to block vision and segregate the audience. The architects who design columns in meeting rooms should have to sit behind them.

The ceiling should be high enough that visuals can be seen by all in attendance. If a chandelier is in the way, perhaps it can be removed. Simply ask and see.

Low ceilings are also to be avoided since they tend to depress an audience. “I feel boxed in,” is the way one person expressed it. “It’s not so bad at first, but it gets ‘old’ real quick! As the day progresses you get a worried feeling. There’s no relief until you leave the room. It’s as bad as being on a crowded elevator.”

Use a room that has entrances and exits in the rear so that late arrivals and early departures will be less distracting.

Naturally, the room should be large enough. But it should also be small enough—small enough that it’s comfortably filled. Vacant space and empty chairs are deadly.

Screens can be used to reduce the meeting area. It’s better, though, to select a room of the right size in the first place. “I’d rather have a few people standing than a lot of empty chairs’ said an advertising account executive. “It leaves the impression the meeting is so important that everyone wants to get in on it.”

Meeting Sample

Sale Meeting

Technorati Tags: meeting rooms, meeting venue, Sales Meeting Planning

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It is usually best to Plan conventional meals and avoid exotic dishes for a sales meeting. This way you’ll please nearly everybody. Never cater to the gourmets. Strive to satisfy Mr. Average Salesperson. “The last time we had a ‘blow¬out’ we arranged for Cornish game-hens,” said a Newark man. “We later learned that most wanted steaks even though the steaks were less expensive. And even though they’d been eating steaks at nearly every meal.” So give them what they want, not what they should want.
 
Is your meeting on Friday? If so, some will want fish. How about ham—anyone object?
You must pay for the number of plates guaranteed or the number of plates served—whichever is greater. This is standard procedure. Experience has shown that a few people miss organized meals. There’s always someone who can’t kick himself out of bed in time for breakfast. Another can’t tear himself loose from the bar at noon.

Two more excuse themselves before dinner so they can “do the town.” One gets sick. Still another is called home by an emergency. Why guarantee that everyone will show for every meal? Reduce the guarantee figure by 8 or 10 percent. You’ll save money. You won’t have to pay for food that “goes begging.”  If everyone does happen to show, there’s no harm done. The hotel will be prepared to serve 10 percent more than the number guaranteed. This also is standard procedure.

Meeting sample

Sale Meeting

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The best public meeting rooms are booked a year or more in advance, especially in the case of large auditoriums and ballrooms. So you will need to do some long range planning.

“I represent a group of fashion exhibitors” said a New York man. “We do shows all over the country. The competition for the best ballrooms is so great that I’ve booked five years ahead in several cities. It’s the only way I can be sure of getting the hotel I want.”

You may need help in finding a desirable downtown meeting place. Contact the Chamber of Commerce, their staff will know of many suitable rooms.

A United States Chamber of Commerce official reports, “Most Chambers keep a roster of available meeting rooms. In addition to the location of each room, the local Chamber can tell you the capacity, the cost and the name of the person to contact. You can obtain this information whether your company belongs to the local Chamber or not.”
Gratis rooms can be booked in some cities.

In addition to the Chamber, check the public library, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., public utility auditoriums, and public school facilities, where a clean-up fee is often the only change. Another means of getting a free meeting room is to schedule a meal. Most hotels charge only for food-breakfast, lunch or dinner. Nothing is actually free. In paying for the food, you also pay for the room.

This hidden cost is usually quite reasonable, however. It’s most economical when food activities include a meal other than dinner. The trend is to charge heavily for dinner. “They’ll really soak you for an evening meal,” said a vending-machine operator. “Ask whether a less expensive meal is available. Usually they push the higher priced meal, but most hotels will serve a substantial lunch for a buck or two less.”

Meeting Sample

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Meeting Sample Agenda

Sample Objective: To help the salespeople become better at closing sales.

1st subject (4 minutes) – Review of last quarters sales trends showing an increase in appointments but a drop in sales.

2nd subject    (4 minutes) – Steps in the sales process covering attention, interest,
desire, call to action.

3rd subject    (10 minutes) – The final step — how to test close, or prompt to action.

4th subject    (10 minutes) – A video presentation on showing sample closes.

5th subject    (5 minutes) – Inspirational plea for application of closing principles in the field, inspirational close.

In the meeting sample subject matter that is shown above there is a logical sequence. The need or reason for the objective of the meeting is developed before emphasis is placed on the subject. This helps those in attendace gain a greater desire to learn more about the objectives of your meeting.

Then the steps required to accomplish the objective of the meeting are covered briefly. This helps to show the relationship of the main point to all of the other steps in the process, pointing to up its overall importance.  After this point in the meeting, all emphasis is placed on the main point itself.

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A few sales executives boast that notes aren’t needed. Most speak better however, when using notes. Except for the “pros,” all speakers should use notes. Even a “pro” uses them until he has his talk down “pat.”  There are times when your sales meeting speaker can destroy his notes with effectiveness, however.

First, he might do it for the sake of informality. Upon taking the stand he looks at his audience and states, “I see Jim Dawson, Jose Timen and other friends in the audience.” He rips up his notes with a flourish, adding, “And I certainly don’t need notes to talk to my friends.” Although the audience doesn’t realize it, he may still have a few notes before him!

There’s another time for note tearing. It’s when a meeting is behind schedule and the audience is aware of it. The final speaker begins with a glance at his watch and a fast rate of speech.
“We’re running out of time, so here goes the advice I’d planned to give you.” He then tears a blank piece of paper down the middle. The audience giggles with relief.

“And here go the funny stories I’d planned to tell!” He rips some more paper. The audience relaxes and laughs louder. He captured full attention in spite of a difficult situation. Everyone is listening when he adds, “There’s only one part of the talk I’ll go through with, the part you wanted most to hear. I’m referring to    ________”.  (The speaker then covers the main point of his talk.

Sale Meeting

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In a sales meeting, the audience normally likes to see any idea presented by a speaker visually. A visual presentation can be made at the same time as the verbal and it can be made in several different ways.  A good method is the crossover, an individual crossing the platform behind the speaker.  The person crossing can illustrate many things with real effectiveness.

Suppose the speaker wants to tell of an overconfident salesperson. “He vowed he’d eat his hat if he couldn’t sell a certain prospect.” This is a natural for a crossover! When the climax of the story is reached, a fellow crosses the stage chewing on his hat!

Perhaps the speaker refers to a fellow who became a smart-alec,”too big for his britches.” Someone with the seat torn out of his trousers could crossover.  “He lost” said the speaker.

“He almost lost his shirt.” A fellow in pants and an undershirt could then crossover.

“This man made a million dollars.” A fellow crosses with money sticking out of every pocket, and pinned to his shoulders and back. He’s counting some bills in his hands.

“That competition of ours really took a beating.” The crossover is made by a man who has a bandaged eye, an arm in a sling, and catsup on his cheek!

Sales Meeting

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There’s no excuse for a boring speech when your speakers can act out ANY POINT. This applies even to something that may seem uninteresting, for example, a code of ethics. It seems pretty dull. How could adherence to a code of ethics be dramatized?

Your speaker simply extends a long stick toward an assistant. He nearly touches him before withdrawing the stick. He repeats the act. Then the assistant says, “I know you need me. And I can really sell.” But the speaker gives a negative shake of his head. The assistant drops to his knees with a plea of, “Please! Please take me!” The speaker tosses the stick away, explaining to the audience, “He won’t adhere to the code of ethics. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole!”

Here is another example to give you the idea of what I mean.

The need for having a plan can easily be enacted. Your speaker appoints someone to play the role of a salesperson. “This salesperson has set a goal for himself and is trying to reach it. This
check for $30,000 represents his goal.”

The salesperson is asked to leave the room for a moment. While he’s gone the check is taped high on the wall in the rear of the room. He’s called back in and told to “take whatever steps he must take in order to reach his goal.”

He wanders about, looking in many places. He may even look down the collar of the big boss! But he fails to find the check, fails to reach his goal.

Speaker: “He had a goal but no plan for reaching it. Break your goal down into small steps. Then you’ll know what must be done each day in order to reach it. A goal, without a plan for reaching it, is merely wishful thinking.”

Sales Meeting

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Here is a way to dramatize the importance of systematic prospecting in a sales meeting.

Your speaker is dressed as a magician. He begins by performing several magic tricks. Three people are then brought forward. They should be strangers to the audience.

One is said to be a hot prospect, ready to place an order. Your speaker guesses which of the three it is. He misses on his first guess—on the second one, too. “This proves that no one can tell which prospects will buy—not even a magician. So let’s call on everybody.”

Sales Meeting

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Mental attitude is intangible. As insurance and securities salespeople know, it’s difficult to present an intangible in a dramatic way. It’s difficult to present it at all. It can’t even be seen!

But here’s a way to dramatize mental attitude. Your speaker shows a 10-foot plank, 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. He places it on the floor and has two or three volunteers walk the length of it. Then he states that the board will be placed on the tops of two adjacent buildings, each five stories high. It will connect the roofs of the two structures. Who will volunteer to walk it? No one.

“Everyone can do it. At least, he can when the plank is on the floor. When it’s high, you’re afraid you’ll fall. And that fear would likely cause your downfall, too.”  The point is then applied to selling. Where one is confident he will make a sale, he may make it. When he fears failure, he will experience it.

Here’s another way the same thing can be demonstrated.  Your speaker distributes shiny new tin cans. In each can there’s a slip of paper on which the word “Success” has been written. He proves, then, that success comes in cans—not can’ts.

Good mental attitude includes a willingness to look for the good instead of the bad. This willingness can also be dramatized.  Your speaker gets a large white poster and places a small black circle near the center. During his talk he holds up the poster and asks, “What do you see?” The reply will be, “A black dot.” Then he “lowers the boom” on them. “Here’s a fine white poster. It has quality and distinction. It can be used for many things. You could print directions on it and use it in routing customer traffic.

You could print merchandise information on it and use it in sales promotion.  “But you didn’t visualize those things. You didn’t see the good. All you saw was the one little blemish—the bad!

“Let’s start looking for the good in everything. It’s a cinch we can’t benefit from the bad!”
Here’s the same “song” but a different “verse.” Your speaker can show a glass of water that’s half full. He states, “The negative thinker will say the glass is half empty. The positive
thinker will say it’s half full. Which way do you think?”

Sales Meeting

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