GrowthANSWERS » sales process optimization

January 2, 2009

How Not To Conduct A Manufacturing Sales Meeting

Filed under: sales team development, sales process optimization —

Many years ago I worked for a small manufacturing company. As one of four regional managers, I was invited to the home office the first week of the second month of each quarter, to meet with our Vice President of Sales for a five-day “Sales Meeting.” We really had a good time eating at our favorite restaurants in the area, but we all HATED those meetings!

We were never sure just why we were called in for a full week, four times a year. These meetings consisted of hours of random discussions without meaningful decisions, bull sessions about sports teams or favorite cars and where we would have lunch. These hours were punctuated by moments of interesting discussions with engineering, marketing and manufacturing, which helped us feel a part of something larger than ourselves. Here is what I observed about how not to conduct a sales meeting:

No advanced agenda. We were often unable to contribute effectively to a particular discussion because we did not know the subjects in advance. Lack of preparation resulted in frustration and poor decision-making.
Failure to adhere to the established agenda. The first morning of each event we were presented with the week’s agenda. We rarely stuck to those topics, and often got behind. We all felt like two of the five days were wasted.
Avoiding the “elephant in the room.” Sales were flat for four of the five years I was part of this group. While we discussed ways to increase sales (of course!), the “elephant” of our antiquated technology and poor market positioning was ignored.
Lack of a marketing and sales plan. I do not remember any cohesive marketing programs or plans of action which would increase our market share or customer awareness. It was difficult to generate excitement in the field.
No business fun. We had four talented, capable managers, who wanted to succeed and make money. There was no “motivational speaker” or trainer or consultant brought in to help us grow personally, to get outside our habits and look for innovative ways to grow our business.
No follow up from the top. The CEO and the VP of Sales were great people. We became friends. But they had no action plans to work with us in the field to identify markets, build distribution or increase OEM sales. We may or may not see them in the field between quarterly meetings.

From these experiences I have three recommendations for effective sales meetings:
1. Identify and promote a specific and definite objective for each meeting.
2. Keep it short and stick to business. Generate excitement to make the meeting personally rewarding and business profitable.
3. Follow up with executive presence in the field to reinforce the initiatives or the plans decided in the meetings. Field managers need to be accountable and feel supported.

If you want to have fun, build the business meeting around a fun location, but make sure that the business is the focus of the meetings part.

MARK WALKER http://www.jmwalkergroup.com/

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December 13, 2008

Phone-Based Demand Generation Demands Consultive Approach

Filed under: Resources, sales process optimization, lead generation, marketing strategy —

BY MICHAEL MCCLELLAN - www.plexusmarketing.com

You have your main message selected, product features/benefits and questions/objections pages written. You’ve purchased a thoroughly researched list of suspects you hope to move to the prospect stage. So, what’s left to do but get on the phone and talk to people?

If that’s as far as you’ve gone, the demand generation project you’ve sunk so much time and money into may not create the results you had hoped. A consultive call guide can be your best ally when trying to engage a busy executive or decision maker.

But, writing a consultive call guide is not for amateurs. With only a few seconds to create interest, you quickly want your suspect to become part of the conversation. That means you have to ask open ended questions that pull your contact’s focus away from all the other stuff on their desk and get their full attention.

But, when you finally hear the voice of the contact you’ve been trying to reach for days on the other end of the line, it’s tempting to try to use those first couple of minutes to present your offering and its key features and benefits. This approach, however, is likely to elicit a “no, we’re not interested” response from the contact person that you’ve waited so long to reach.

Instead, be prepared make a short, credibility-building introduction of your company, then be ready to ask questions and consult – which gives you the opportunity to listen as well as talk.

Making this simple change will save valuable time and expense, because you will find out more by asking the right questions and listening to your contact – and earn the opportunity to engage in a longer discussion.

So, before you start your next demand generation project, consider enlisting the help of a professional call guide writer to help you develop a highly-effective script or call guide.