Personally, I find it quite amusing and funny that we would be selling something that had the word “map” in it. So I decided to make a simple joke of the situation. When he failed to laugh or attempt to get a response from me, I continued talking about my business as if nothing happened.
He was asked for his phone number, made an appointment with me for 2 days later (2 months ago now). He showed up on time; we went through a set of questions that every call center agent must go through such as what is your role at this company? What are you doing here? What is your title? What is your job description? etc. The first thing he told me was that they were going to go over their own template and not use any of mine. Okay, no problem! I don’t mind sharing my ideas with other people so long as they’re willing to implement them into their own program. The guy said he wanted me to work directly with him on some things and then work with his team of four others who would be taking over those tasks since I’m new there.
Come prepared.
Come prepared. Be ready to ask questions, give feedback and share your ideas.
- Start with a short introduction that describes what you do and how you can help the team achieve their goals. This will show them that you care about the project and make it easy for them to get started talking about their goals.
- Ask for more specific information about what they need so that you can be sure of your next steps in working together on this project (e.g., “What are some ways we can improve our sales process?”).
Focus on actionable items.
- Focus on actionable items.
- Avoid the words “me” and “I”.
Don’t spend time talking about yourself or your problems. Instead, focus on what you can do for others in a way that makes them feel better about themselves and their project.
Listen to every person in the meeting.
Listening is a skill that can be learned. Here are some tips for improving your listening skills:
- Listen to what people are saying, but also listen for the unspoken things that they aren’t saying or doing (e.g., “I’m not going to do this,” or “I’ll think about it.”)
- Listen for what people aren’t doing (e.g., “I’m here,” or “Can we talk later?”).
- Be aware of how you are feeling and thinking so that you know when something needs attention and/or action from you (e.g., “You’re getting frustrated”).
Be direct and honest with your feedback.
When you’re giving feedback, it’s important to be honest and direct. But don’t be too harsh or blunt. You want to make sure that your team knows what they’re doing well and what they could improve on, but you don’t want them getting defensive or upset about it.
Be prepared for the possibility of asking for help—both from yourself and from others on your team—and also set aside time in each meeting where every employee can ask questions or raise concerns if they have any issues with their tasks or responsibilities at work. If someone has an idea they think would work better than another option that has already been suggested by someone else in the room (or even if there isn’t currently a clear path forward), then let them know! The more input we can get into how things are done around here means better results down the line.”
Use simple language.
When you’re speaking with your team, it’s important to use simple language. This will help them understand what you are saying and make sure they can easily follow along with the conversation.
- Use a friendly tone of voice.
- Use body language to help them understand what you are saying (this is especially helpful when using humor).
Pick up on nonverbal cues and consider nonverbal signals instead.
When you’re talking with someone, it can be easy to focus on what they are saying and miss the nonverbal cues they are sending. For example, if you are looking at a person while he or she is speaking and their face becomes tense when they say something negative (or even just uninterested), this could indicate that the person has more information that he or she isn’t sharing yet. A good way of gauging how much time is left in your meeting would be to watch how long the person takes before responding after each question or comment from another team member; if there isn’t enough time for everyone else’s input before someone needs attention again then it might be worth asking them directly about any concerns instead!
Sales meetings aren’t meant to be competitive – they’re meant to help everyone get more done
If you’ve ever been in a sales meeting, then you know how stressful it can be. You’re trying to sell products and services, but you also have to focus on your own business while listening to other people talk. It’s not easy!
But there are ways that everyone can make these meetings more productive by taking some time out of their day and focusing on one another instead of themselves.