Bare Bones Business: Revive dry sales meetings with these 3 rules

Problem: Your sales meeting is as exciting as watching ice melt.

I’ve been to some pretty painful sales meetings. Here’s a slice:

The sales manager shows up late and the salespeople straggle in. Some of them fire up their Blackberries or finish up their paperwork. The manager may complain about general poor performance by team members, and because it sounds like a wife whining, the salespeople hear, “Blah blah blah.” Then, the enlightened manager turns off the lights and turns on a sales training DVD. The team squints to see the TV, which is the size of a postage stamp and is mounted at Mount Everest altitude in a corner of the office. The lights go up 20 minutes later, and the team awakens and shuffles off to face their customers. Ugh.

Here’s a basic outline on how to put together a good sales meeting. Feel free to explore, edit and expand, and may this help you get your creative juices flowing.

Praise and criticism, show and tell

Rule No. 1. Praise in public, criticize in private. During team meetings, don’t nag about poor performance. It’s irritating and ineffective. For those who are in compliance, or meeting the standard, it’s a waste of their time.

For those who are out of compliance, the message sent is, “Apparently everyone is behaving as poorly as I am. I’m off the hook!” Address poor performance individually and in private.

At the sales meeting, bestow honor and recognition to the winners. Do you keep score? Do you track key numbers such as close rate, average sale, total sales and efficiency?

If not, why not? It’s fun to play a game and win. If you keep score, you help team members be successful. The sales meeting is one part of an overall sales- and service-focused culture. And it is a great opportunity to celebrate the wins. Acknowledge the top performers for the key numbers – for the week, the month, the year-to-date.

You can honor good performance with a round of applause, a standing ovation, hootin’ and hollerin’ and a firm handshake.

You can bestow a crown or scepter or pin signifying the current record-holder or top finisher. Make your acknowledgements significant and formal.

Also, present bonus checks at the sales meeting. If you handle the tax requirements properly, you can deliver the cash amount. Cash is always popular.

Rule No. 2. Get your team in on the presentation. You don’t have to be the know-all, do-all manager. Your salespeople can teach each other. Did you notice a particularly great invoice from your daily review of your team’s paperwork? Ask the salesperson to role play – with you or another team member – how that sales call went down.

This is a great way to reinforce “right stuff” behavior and help your team develop their sales and communication skills.

Have some fun at your sales meetings. Tell a joke. Play a theme song. “We Are The Champions,” by Queen? “Danger Zone,” by Kenny Loggins? “Let’s Get This Party Started,” by Pink? Share a funny video your teenage kid discovered on YouTube. Embellish a story. People buy from people they like. Use your sales meeting to make friends. It’s contagious.

Rule No. 3. Be true to yourself. Bring your authentic self to the party. Dale Carnegie said that a leader opens up his chest so that people can see his heart. Show your team your heart. Tell them, with regularity, where you started, where you are now in your business and your life, and where you hope to be in the future.

Let them know your values, the few things you will absolutely go to the wall on. Share your story.

“To do what you love and feel that it matters – what could be more fun?”

—Katharine Graham

Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant who offers systems for getting focused and organized, making money and having fun in business. Her latest book is “The Bare Bones Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@barebonesbiz.com.[[In-content Ad]]