How You Can Create Killer Sales Meetings – Part 1

What would your salespeople say about your sales meetings?

1. Our meetings are the highlight of my week.
2. I’d rather listen to a Nickelback album while getting a root canal.

Alas, the majority of salespeople report that their sales meetings are nothing more than a colossal waste of time.

But they don’t have to be so. As a sales leader you have the power – and the responsibility – to change all that. Here’s how.

The first step is simple yet profound: stop calling them sales meetings.

Who wants to go to a meeting? What connotations come to mind?

• Dull and boring
• Heavy on the admin
• Talking heads
• Poor use of time

(My apologies if I just described your typical sales meeting!)

Instead, start calling them “sales rallies.”

This simple step will transform your sessions into something the salespeople want to attend and will actually benefit from.

Think about it: what is the purpose of a rally? To inspire. To build up. To encourage. To boost confidence. Isn’t that exactly what you want in your salespeople?

This simple step does something really important: it transforms the purpose of the gathering in your own mind.

It’s one thing for the salespeople to think about attending a rally. But would you not agree that the very act of labeling the event as a rally would change the way you prepare?

So what goes into a rally, and what makes it different?

• Music! Music drives energy and sets the tone. (Hint: assign a “music czar” for your rallies. Delegate this to one of your salespeople.)
• You want your salespeople feeling massively uplifted. (Hint: YouTube is a tremendous resource for free motivational videos.)
• Salespeople learn and retain more effectively when they are having fun. (Hint: there are a ton of books out there that offer suggestions for games to play as part of the rally.)
• ONE Key Point. Keep your agenda laser focused; choose one thing to focus on. (Hint: what do you want your salespeople to say about the meeting 60 minutes after it ends?)

And what does NOT take place in a rally?

• Administrative review
• Yelling and griping (by you or by others)
• Fabricated projections

Make the commitment right now to simply relabel your meetings as rallies, and then plan accordingly.

Trust me – your salespeople will love you for it!

Stay tuned for the rest of this four part series on killer sales meetings.