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Sales Team Meeting Idea: The War Room

Friday, February 12th, 2010

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Sales Team Meeting Idea: The War Room

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This topic is what we call The War Room and it has been very popular this past year.  Sales teams that face reality and address it rationally, strategically and head-on succeed in the long run. This means their customers are better served, also.  The customers’ success is the salesperson’s goal and, therefore, the underlying goal of every Meeting to Win agenda and sales team meeting topic.

Enjoy The War Room exercise at your next sales team meeting.  Get more topics by subscribing for new sales team meeting topics to be delivered to your inbox every Friday. 

War Room

The War Room exercise is a time to get together as a team to address the surrounding business climate, how it is affecting the team’s selling efforts and what actions make sense to address it moving forward.

  • As a team, quickly list the ways the current business climate is affecting your business. What are the most recent developments in the economy, your industry, your customer base, your competitors, etc?
  1. ________________________________________
  2. ________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________
  5. ________________________________________
  6. ________________________________________
  7. ________________________________________
  8. ________________________________________
  9. ________________________________________
  10. ________________________________________
  • Begin with one item from the list you just created and, as a group, share some ideas, best practices and strategies for handling that challenge.

Challenge:  ______________________________________

Strategies: 

  1.  ________________________________________
  2. ________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________
  5. ________________________________________

 

  • Continue this with each item until you run out of time.

Challenge:  ______________________________________

Strategies: 

  1.  ________________________________________
  2. ________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________
  5. ________________________________________

 

Challenge:  ______________________________________

Strategies: 

  1.  ________________________________________
  2. ________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________
  5. ________________________________________

 

Challenge:  ______________________________________

Strategies: 

  1.  ________________________________________
  2. ________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________
  5. ________________________________________

Posted in agenda ideas, agendas, best practice, down economy, free sales team meeting topics, how to have productive sales team meetings, performance, sales management, sales team meeting agenda, sales team meeting agenda topics, sales team meeting ideas, team meeting, tips for meetings, tough economy | No Comments »

LinkedIn Groups are Valuable Sales Tools – When Used Appropriately (Article & Sales Team Meeting Idea)

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

LinkedIn has become a very valuable tool for me.  I enjoy partnering with my connections for referrals, business opportunities, learning experiences and awareness of our industry and business climate.  In the few years I’ve been using LinkedIn I’ve reconnected with former colleagues, exchanged valuable referrals, developed deeper relationships with clients, kept track of clients when they’ve switched companies, connected employers and employees, created great peer networks and, not lastly, increased sales.  My point?  LinkedIn is a powerful tool in my business. 

In the past year, I have gotten more active on LinkedIn Groups.    I wanted to share my experience and some of my best pratices for using these groups to build business acumen, share and gather best practices and grow as a sales professional. 

  1. First of all, you need to find a group that is well-managed.  This means that the group manager is actively involved in the discussions and ensures that spam or selling is not tolerated.  The groups that add value are made up of a community of peers that value sharing ideas and best practices for the benefit of the group – and ultimately the customers they serve.  Here are three groups I am active in and would highly recommend:  Sales Blogcast, Sales Gravy, Sales Playbook  (If you know of other good groups, please post a comment and share them with our readers.)  Visit one or more of these groups and request to join.
  2. Once you are a member, you should share your ideas and opinions on discussion questions already posted. 
  3. If you are facing a sales challenge such as getting a prospect to take your call, overcoming a price objection or dealing with customer service issues, you can post your dilemma for the group.  These groups are made up of professionals from the sales industry and are great about sharing their experiences, ideas and suggestions.  You will have a great list of perspectives to consider as you decide how to tackle your sales challenge.
  4. Be respectful of your network.  You can disagree -it is actually interesting and valuable to get differing opinions.  Just do it politely and with respect.
  5. Make an effort to share news that might be useful to the group.  Most groups have a place to post news.   If you find something helpful, share it with the group. 
  6. Follow up on discussions you post.  Thank group members for their input and continue to facilitate the discussion until it runs its course.
  7. Be abundant.  In the The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Dr. Stephen Covey defined this abundance mentality as “a paradigm that there is plenty out there for everyone.”    The Abundance Mentality is in contrast to the Scarcity Mentality.  (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen R. Covey)
  8. Invite colleagues to join and participate in groups you find useful. 
  9. Stay positive.  The groups I’ve recommended manage to stay realistic and positive. They are solution oriented no matter the challenge.
  10. Remember the Golden Rule always.

These groups are a great enhancement to your life and career when you participate appropriately.  Please feel free to share your own best practices by leaving a comment for our readers.

Get active in LinkedIn Groups and reap the benefits immediately.

Sales Team Meeting Idea:

Ask your sales team to

  • all join the same group or
  • each join a different group.

At your sales team meetings, bring one of the discussion questions from your LI group to your own team.  Share the LinkedIn Group’s responses and then build on those.

Or, determine a sales challenge that exists on your team and post it to the group(s) you belong to. The next time you get together, share the answers from the LinkedIn group(s).  Be sure to let your LinkedIn Group(s) know how they helped your team by leaving a comment in the discussion thread, also.

(Meeting to Win offers subscribers sales team meeting agendas every week.  Join us by subscribing at https://www.meetingtowin.com/subscribe.)

Posted in agenda ideas, best practice, down economy, free sales team meeting topics, how to have productive sales team meetings, management tips, maximize tools, new managers, performance, sales activity, sales management, sales manager tips, sales managers, sales meetings, sales team meeting agenda, sales team meeting agenda topics, sales team meeting ideas, selling tools, team meeting, tips for meetings | No Comments »

Turn Gatekeepers Into Escorts (Plus: Sales Team Meeting Idea)

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

(Each week Meeting to Win provides a 60-minute sales team meeting agenda for our subscribers.  Each week we cover sales and business topics all designed to help salespeople develop as sales professionals, sell more and better serve their customers.  The agendas are packed with exercises, discussions and ways for your team to grow.  This week’s agenda is Turn Gatekeepers Into Escorts.  Visit us at Meeting to Win to learn more.)

How do you turn your current Gatekeepers into Escorts?  Imagine… those currently keeping you from bringing solutions to decision makers actually setting up the meeting for you to do just that.  Seem like a dream?  It’s not…

To do this, sales reps need to think differently about their gatekeepers. First of all, let’s define gatekeeper for the sake of this discussion. 

A GATEKEEPER is anyone who is preventing or hindering you from working with a decision maker.  These people often take the form of a

  1. receptionist,
  2. executive assistant,
  3. RFP committee,
  4. manager in charge of finding a vendor and so on.

To think differently about gatekeepers, consider the important job they do.  RFP committiees are doing the legwork of gathering information to help their company solve a problem or get a result. Executive Assistants are limiting the interruptions of a senior leader focused on his or her company’s key priorities.  An IT Director is using his or her expertise to compare requirements with capabilities before involving decision makers in the business decisions. 

To salespeople who want access to those decision makers, gatekeepers can be seen as nuisances instead of part of an important part of the selling process.  If you are currently being hindered by gatekeepers, here is something to try.

  1. Consider their specific job and the business reasons they may be keeping you from the decision makers.
  2. Respect their position and the insider information a good relationship is sure to provide.
  3. Now, how can you address their needs in a way that will motivate them to escort you and your ideas to the decision makers?   Determine what criteria the gatekeeper needs to satisfy to move you to the decision makers.
  4. Then, share your desire to meet with those making and impacted by the buying decisions.  Let the gatekeeper know why (it’s got to be for their benefit, not yours) and ask how you can work together to get them comfortable and motivated to bring this solution to decision makers.  Figure out how to help them do their job and ultimately make them look great.
  5. Now you are working together and you are actually helping them succeed in their gatekeeper role.

Gatekeepers do serve a purpose and are not always easy to deal with.  They sometimes abuse their power, make poor decisions and often don’t seem to have the company’s best interest in mind.  Teach them how to bring great solutions to their company by partnering with them instead of trying to run them over.  You’ll be more efficient and enjoy the process more.

 

Sales Team Meeting Idea:

At your next sales team meeting, ask each team member to identify the gatekeepers in each of their pipeline opportunities.  Figure out the important role they play in the overall decision process.  Then, figure out how each rep can help them do their gatekeeper job more effectively so the deal can move forward to the real decision makers.

At the end of your meeting, each rep should have a clear gatekeeper strategy for one deal in their pipeline.

For more in depth exercises each week, subscribe to Meeting to Win sales team meeting agendas by visiting us here.  The next agenda is Turn Gatekeepers Into Escorts (delivered Friday, February 12th, 2010).

To download the Sales Team Meeting Agenda (60 Minutes), Turn Gatekeepers Into Escorts, visit our Store here.

Posted in agenda ideas, agendas, best practice, free sales team meeting topics, gatekeeper, how to have productive sales team meetings, meetings, sales meetings, sales team agenda., sales team meeting agenda, sales team meeting agenda topics, sales team meeting ideas, tips for meetings | No Comments »

The Q4 Push – Are You In? The Time to Act on 2010 is NOW!

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

j0433410This has been a tough year for many.  It’s Q4 and salespeople could be feeling tired and ready to “write this one off” and take another shot at it in 2010.   Here’s the problem with that.  Momentum is a very cool thing and it’s great when it’s working for you and horrible when it’s working against you.  So, even if 2009 is a lost cause in terms of goal achievement, there is no better time (well, a month ago would have been better, but…) to get momentum going for 2010.

To gain more and more momentum as you close in on 2010, try these strategies:

The first five on the list come from the advice my friend Alvin of Tactivity shared in a LinkedIn discussion. I’ve added (and repeated) a few ideas that have helped me, also.

  1. If you’re on pace to the President’s Club in your organization, then increase your activity.
  2. If what you are doing hasn’t been working, then complete a thorough cleansing of the pipeline/funnel: Is it real? Is it good business? Can you win?
  3. Prioritize your activities around the health of your newly cleaned funnel
  4. Brainstorm a list of possible actions for your top opportunities; then choose only the 3-5 activities that will really advance them towards closure
  5. Go get it done!
  6. Conduct business reviews with existing clients to secure relationships, identify risks and uncover new ways to help them.
  7. Examine your territory for new opportunities a tough economy has turned up.
  8. Increase your sales activity.  Oh, did we already mention that one?  Action creates action, energy creates energy.  Make more calls!
  9. Solidify referral partners.  Decide to gain 20 referral partners and stay in touch with them, ask for referrals, be accessible and be someone they would be proud to refer (hint: send them referrals, also).
  10. Stay “on the grid” with prospects and existing customers.  Share useful information to help them run their business more effectively.  Don’t be out of sight or you know where you’ll be…. Out of mind.  Many of their sales reps have “gone dark” lately as companies do lay-offs and reorganizations.  Just being there may differentiate you!
  11. Have a team meeting every week to celebrate successes, share ideas, collaborate on hot deals and challenge each other.  This team accountability and celebration is fuel for your sales engine.  (You know we couldn’t leave this one out!)
  12. BONUS:  Increase sales activity.  In my experience, there is NO substitute.  Commit to accelerated sales activity in Q4 if you do nothing else.  Yeah, it’s worth mentioning 3 times. 

2010 can be an amazing year.  Salespeople that build momentum now can get a head start and be rewarded by helping more customers in 2010 than they ever thought possible.  Not to mention, for some 2009 can be a distant memory….  Get started today.  Staring in January 2010 will be TOO LATE.

To help sales teams build momentum during Q4, Meeting to Win is running a Q4 Push Promotion which means…free sales team meeting agendas for Sales Managers.  Sales Managers can subscribe for sales team meeting agendas and get all of Q4 for free.  First payment of $10/month won’t be charged until January 2010 (sales managers can unsubscribe any time in Q4 and never be charged).  The agendas are designed to motivate sales teams and accelerate performance while continually gaining and maintaining incredible momentum. 

Read more HERE then join us by subscribing HERE and entering the Promo Code “Q4PUSH”.

Posted in LinkedIn, Uncategorized, agendas, best practice, communication, culture, down economy, free sales team meeting topics, management tips, meetings, new managers, new years resolutions, opportunity, performance, sales activity, sales management, sales manager tips, sales managers, sales meetings, sales team, sales team meeting ideas, sales tips, tough economy | No Comments »

One Salesperson’s Keys to Success – My Observations

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

For the past 6 months I’ve had the opportunity to witness a salesperson succeeding.  Of course, I know many salespeople succeeding, but this story really intrigued me.  First of all, this salesperson started a consulting business in their field 6 months ago.  They had no brand, about ten thousand competitors and no marketing budget.  Oh, and we were in the downward spiral economically. 

Flash forward 6 months and this salesperson has more business than they can handle and is now considering adding to their team just to keep up.

I am very impressed with how hard this person has been working and really started to think about the actual keys to their success beyond just hard work.  I started making a list of this salesperson’s activities, habits and characteristics and thought it would be fun to share my list in a blog post.

So, here, in no particular order, are my observations or what I am calling “one salesperson’s keys to success”.

  • Creative deal and pricing structures.  This consultant is in an old industry where they’ve always done pricing the same way.  He surprised prospective clients with better deal structures than they’d seen.  Don’t mistake “creative” for lower – these are competitive deal structures that are a win for both parties.
  • This salesperson is not afraid to walk away from deals.  If the deal isn’t in this person’s sweet spot, he actually walks away from it and spends time where he can be more effective – and valuable to his client. 
  • Cold, hard, disciplined sales activity. This salesperson knows what activity leads to sales results and he does that activity EVERY DAY.
  • Manages time effectively.  Plans his work and works his plan – seems so simple. 
  • Does not get slowed down by rejection.  He is able to expect some rejection and take it in stride knowing he is that much closer to a “yes”.
  • Uses technology effectively.  He is very selective about which technology tools to use and which would be “cool”, but just create more work or wasted time. 
  • Frugal.  He is only spending money where there is clear ROI.
  • Networking, networking, networking every day.
  • Chose a niche and sticks with it.  He is turning down business outside his niche.  Since he began doing this his traction in his niche is growing daily and his client list has doubled each month.
  • He sets attitude rules.  For example, if he loses a deal, he only allows himself to “mourn” it for 24 hours.  He uses business development activity to pull him out of mourning which turns into new opportunities before the 24 hours is even up.
  • He takes care of himself – he works out daily, eats right and even took a week vacation.
  • He doesn’t waste time on administration.  He set up a system that is efficient and doesn’t spend too much time on paperwork.
  • This person naturally has no call reluctance.
  • This salesperson has stayed in touch with past clients consistently for 15+ years.
  • He is a master at LinkedIn.  Daily he is on LinkedIn building and sharing his network. 
  • He asks for referrals every day – and gets them.
  • For some reason, Tuesdays were a discouraging day.  This salesperson figured out why (he couldn’t connect with anyone on Mondays and felt no progress) and did something about it.  He created a plan to stay motivated on Tuesdays and recognized that the week always improved.
  • Extremely and appropriately persistent.
  • Knows his ideal customer and pursues ONLY that.
  • Faces reality and addresses concerns during deal pursuits.  He recognizes when a deal may go south and addresses it with the client before he spends too much time.
  • Works a tactical plan.  This salesperson knows his strategic goals and then carves out time to create a detailed tactical activity plan.  When he gets to his office he “doesn’t have to think”, he just executes his plan. 
  • He really enjoys his business and his clients.  Making them happy and solving business needs genuinely motivates him.

These are just my observations of one successful salesperson.  If you are struggling currently, grab some ideas from this list.  Duplicate his success using his habits.  Happy Selling.

This post brought to you by Jill Myrick, Owner of Meeting to Win, LLC.  Get weekly sales team meeting agendas and create momentum on your sales team!  Visit us at http://www.meetingtowin.com/.

Posted in Uncategorized, best practice, down economy, efficient, management tips, performance, recession, sales activity, sales management, sales tips, tough economy | No Comments »

Love this article from Lee Salz posted on www.ere.net

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Check out the 7 Things to Look for in a Sales Manager by Lee Salz. Please comment and add to the list of 7 so we can have a comprehensive list from our readers/contributors. Thanks for sharing best practices!

http://www.ere.net/2008/11/14/7-things-to-look-for-in-a-sales-manager/

This is a new blog designed to share sales management best practices. Please share a “tip” or “best practice” that works for you at http://www.meetingtowin.com/contact.
Give us permission to use your name and company name and we will post it on this “Tips for Sales Managers” blog. Check back often or subscribe for a new best practice every week.

Posted in What They Are Saying About Meeting to Win, best practice, sales managers, share, tips | No Comments »

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