Okay, so you’ve been getting a lot of B2B appointments lately. That’s great.
The question is: are you able to get something out of them?
In B2B, telemarketing, the number of appointments set does not equate to success unless they are being converted to closed deals. When we send out our sales executives to meet with prospects face to face, they bear the pressure of turning that opportunity into gold.
Kevin Higgins, CEO of Fusion Learning, a training organization, shares 6 secrets in holding a successful sales meeting:
1. Start with an energizer. Begin your meetings on time and start with some fun. Reward those who are punctual to help eliminate the lateness factor.
From week to week you’ll find my team doing trivia games, telling funny stories, sharing sales highlights of the week, or discussing their focus for the month ahead.
2. Keep it simply simple (K.I.S.S.). Always ask, “Does this item need to be in the meeting or could it be done outside the meeting or as pre-work?”
Keep it simply simple with four steps: Make sure the pace of the meeting is fast, create the right atmosphere by ensuring it is fun, add value by helping the team better execute on a key sales skill that will help them close business and have shared ownership, meaning you have the members share content on a regular basis.
3. Have three rules for individual updates. When discussing personal updates make sure the topics are small and the answers timed, so they don’t take over the meeting or sap the team’s energy.
To ensure individual updates don’t take up too much of the sales meeting, follow these three rules: set time limits, create different themes around successes, like key learnings and future focus and know when to take individual issues offline.
4. Motivate and reward. You must build motivation into every team meeting. The sales team has a tough challenge and needs to feel supported and recognized. This isn’t about big gifts or exceptional moments — the simplest “thank you” can have great meaning.
Think about sorting the rewards into different categories. You can make them fun, competitive, team-based, recognition-based or even externally focused, such as getting input or recognizing someone outside of the sales team.
5. Capability activity. Every sales meeting must stretch and challenge team members’ skills to keep them at the top of their game. Capability activities can focus on prospecting, networking, lead generation, client meetings, presenting solutions or closing. The capability activity is all about ongoing skill development and is the key to creating value at the meeting.
6. Standard agenda. If you follow our format, you’ll have a standard, consistent and easy-to-follow agenda that will keep you focused and on track. With it, you can reduce your meeting preparation time dramatically. Keeping your agendas in a folder for reference will also ensure you don’t repeat any of the fun and creative segments.
This content originally appeared at Callbox Blog.