How to Improve Your Sales Meetings

1. How to Improve Your Sales Meetings Being ready is Sales 101. Leads cannot be converted without thorough preparation for the sales meeting. Most sales professionals are aware of this. However, the preparation itself is ambiguous. Either due to lack of training or clear communication, many sales professionals end up following wrong practices. Just arriving with an agenda and business cards, confirming the meeting in advance, or looking for the person you'll meet can make all the difference. Although these things seem obvious, they are essential for a good first impression. Sales professionals typically spend around 19% of their time on sales meetings. That's about a full day a week. Generally, deals are not closed at the first meeting. According to research from Marketing Wizdom, only 1 in 50 transactions closes during the first meeting. In this case, attention to small details is crucial to not only converting but getting to the second meeting. Here are 6 ways to improve preparation for your sales meeting to get closer to closing the deal: Research Spend time learning about the company, what they do, what they are trying to achieve, who they work with, and what advantage they will get from working with you. Understand their market to avoid being caught by surprise. Not only do you have to research the company but also the people who are participating in the meeting. Starting the meetings with the two of you things in common can be a great dead end. At the end of the day, we're all human, and making the connection is never more forgotten than the facts. A good way to start looking is to find it on social media. LinkedIn might be your best bet in keeping the conversation professional.

2. You have an agenda No matter how simple the conversation always set an agenda. Simple outlines with talking points will set you apart from your competitors. Bring a hard copy for you and everyone else in the meeting. Being able to look at your talking points will guide the conversation and help you stay on the right track. Offer review Although you may have mastered this by now, take some time to review your sales proposal. Ask colleagues and friends for feedback. Remove irrelevant or stale parts. It's common for presentations to become "cliché" with buzz words added unnecessarily. Comments like "forward thinking", "synergy" and "dynamic" all sound great but how much value do you add to your presentation other than the buzzwords. Prepare your questions Knowing your audience and mastering your presentation is definitely required to make a lasting impression. However, this is not enough. A good meeting is an interactive meeting. Although customers are expected to ask questions at sales meetings, you should have your own set of questions. Asking questions lets the client know that you are sparing no effort in preparing yourself. Sometimes the effort is the best impression. Exercise You may have been encouraged to practice all the important things in life so far, but suddenly when it comes to work, you are expected to be perfect the first time. This is an unrealistic expectation of you. Hold a training meeting for VIPs and smooth the rough edges. You will be more confident in the actual meeting.

3. Sleep well This may sound obvious, but many sales professionals skip sleep in anticipation of a big meeting. Getting 8 hours of sleep helps you feel refreshed and relaxed at a sales meeting. This will help you stand out and appear confident and assured. Try these tips before your next big meeting, and you're sure to get the chance! Brand awareness & lead generation Looking to target specific accounts and decision-makers? Or engage with a wider audience? Find out how we can help.