How to conduct a successful sales meeting
One of the challenges for any sales manager, especially a fairly new manager, is conducting an effective sales meeting while consistently engaging your team. It can be extremely difficult to supply your team with valuable information without erring on the side of boring lectures and mundane sales tips. The purpose of a sales meeting is to engage your team, have the team participate and be able to share positive and constructive feedback.
When I was first promoted to a sales manager, I inherited a team whose manager was recently promoted to a Director role. He had a well oiled sales team in place and ran solid sales meetings. I figured that since I already had the personal rapport with the members on the team, it would be easy for me to follow his template for the sales meeting and have it be a success. Step 1: Run through the forecast. Step 2: Talk about what’s going on in the market. Step 3: Work in a little role playing if there is time. Step 4: Make an enthusiastic wrap up that pumps up the team. It seemed easy enough.
My assumption had proven to be wrong when I looked out at the team during the meeting and realized that I wasn’t keeping their attention, nor was I adding any value to them. I could sense from the team that the meetings were a complete waste of their time and I needed to change my approach if these meetings were going to be saved.
It took me a little time to find a groove but I realized that solid sales meetings take ongoing preparation. The meetings should be able to accomplish several things during a short amount of time. One of the first challenges that I faced was, “What do I talk about after we finish forecast?” What I settled on was on a weekly basis was to keep a running list of potential subjects and broke them down to Must Talk About and Could Talk About. Must Talk About were the issues that I had to cover from either a corporate side or something that I felt we needed to focus on. Could Talk About might be an interesting industry article or trend that could be brought up either this week or next. Now when I prepped for my meeting the night before I could organize what I wanted to cover. Taking time to prep is the key to running a successful sales meeting. You must block out this time!
Have an agenda and I set a timeline. Write out a meeting outline and bring copies for your team. You must keep your team engaged throughout the meeting but always remember, these are salespeople you’re talking to. Salespeople are notorious for having short attention spans and your salespeople are probably thinking about a number of different things while you’re blabbing away. Your outline lets your salespeople see what you want to accomplish and they can see when the meeting is going to end. This also keeps your salespeople focused until the end of the meeting and mitigates the time they spend fidgeting in their chair thinking about when they can get that cup of coffee they are dying for.
Lastly, take control and stick to what you want to accomplish. Make sure that you keep your meeting on track and relevant to the tasks you’re hoping to accomplish. Do not let your sales people hijack your meeting into the direction that they choose. If the subject they begin to discuss is not relevant to the tasks at hand, address the concern as valid and offer them time to speak with you about the subject once the meeting is over. Keep things positive and wrap up the meeting in a way that makes everyone feel accomplished.
Just remember, the best sales meetings are properly planned, concise and relevant. Every once in a while you can throw in an activity for team building or brainstorming, but always make sure you are engaging your team. With a little organization, your sales meetings will seem like a walk in the park.
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Are LinkedIn Recommendations Important?
With social media on the rise and the majority of professionals being building profiles on such sites as Facebook and LinkedIn, one starts to wonder how much these profiles make a difference in a professional setting. I have been approached by many candidates concerning their LinkedIn profiles and one of the reoccurring topics is that of recommendations. How do you get them? How many should you have? Do hiring companies take these into consideration? I will say that recommendations are extremely helpful, but they do not override your experience or add to your relevancy in a candidate search. I have had several candidates who have approached me saying that they should be considered for a job that they have no experience with based on their LinkedIn recommendations. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. A recommendation on LinkedIn cannot get your foot in the door, but it can help you stay on the other side of the door once it’s opened. What many HR managers will do once they decide to talk to a candidate is look at their social networking profiles, such as LinkedIn. They look at how the candidate present themselves and if there are any recommendations that back up what is on the resume. A solid recommendation from a manager, boss or company superior can be extremely helpful in terms of solidifying your candidacy and helping build your reputation with the hiring company. However, your LinkedIn profile will not be the only social media profile that they take a look at. Nowadays, hiring manager or HR executives will look to see if you’re on Facebook or Myspace and they will rifle through your profile to try to learn more about your personal life. Pictures that make it look like you party on the weekends with rock bands probably will not help you out.
LinkedIn recommendations can also be helpful for you when a recruiter is trying to recruit off of LinkedIn and reach out to those candidates they find relevant. One of the things we look for when recruiting off of LinkedIn is recommendations. It may not be the deciding factor but the person with multiple strong recommendations may be the first one to get a call.
So, how do you go about getting LinkedIn recommendations? You can ask your managers and colleagues but I don’t suggest that you badger people to write about you. Instead, write one for someone else. Go about it with a karmic approach and write for a former colleague or manager that you feel strongly that deserves your kind words. You won’t always get a recommendation back from that person but they will be more likely to write great things about you if you recommend them first. You may receive a recommendation out of the blue, and when you do, make sure you return the favor. Getting recommendations will help you build your professional reputation, but so will giving them. So don’t neglect that long list of recommendations that you should make because it might help you out in the long run.
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Protect your reputation in the sales community!
After being in the recruiting industry and having met many people through my career, I can sincerely attest that it is a small world, people talk and word travels fast. When that word is about you, you want it to be a positive one. You want people to respond to your name positively and hopefully send business and referrals your way. Having a poor reputation will surely ruin your chances of success. When it comes to building your reputation, the one rule of thumb is “Don’t burn any bridges”. In all situations, especially in business, be respectful of people and their time. But most importantly, be honest.
Let me share a story with you:
A candidate, that I will refer to as Johnny, called me to help him in his job search. After running a particular job by him, Johnny asked that I try to get him an interview. After submitting his resume, my client responded by saying that she thought his name sounded familiar but would like to meet with him. I scheduled him in to meet with my client and on the day of the interview, Johnny was a no-show. I promptly called Johnny and he made an excuse as to why he didn’t make it and wanted to reschedule. Not only does blowing off an interview soil the reputation of a candidate, but it also turns out that Johnny had met with my client for several interviews 8 months ago. They made him an offer and then Johnny went missing – he never called them back to accept or deny the offer. Therefore my client passed on his candidacy on the spot and red flagged his name for future consideration.
In this case, Johnny burnt the bridge between a potential job and also stained his reputation with me. Since this incident my client has moved on to a new company as their hiring manager. Therefore, what Johnny did not realize that because he has burned that bridge he not only shot himself in the foot with not one company, but two.
The moral of the story is be honest and do not play games. Treat everyone with the respect that you would want to be treated with. It’s a small world and karma exists.
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Will relocation advance your career?
It is forever the goal of every type of professional to grow and advance your career. In this economy, those desires are still present but the challenges of doing so are great. Professionals are now considering drastic ways to advance their careers such as relocation. However, before you pack your bags and uproot your existing life, consider the risks and the real implications of moving.
First, let’s establish the greatest reason to relocate: you relocate because you want to move to a specific geographic region for the environment, climate, family, etc.; you have no ties or plans to move back from where you are coming; you truly love the new destination and plan to establish a long lasting life and career there. If this is the motivation behind making a move then relocating is the right decision for you and your family. Pack up the U-Haul and enjoy the excitement and thrill of moving to a new state, city and town. Congratulations on your new venture and I wish you the best of luck.
However, for those of you considering relocation based on job opportunity, please consider some serious draw backs. I have experienced all of this not personally but through years of consultation with many great professionals.
When relocating for a new opportunity or a promotion with your existing company, the logistics of relocation are easy. Companies intentionally make it that way because once you leave the life you’re used to, you are trapped. Let use Boston as a location for example. If you are currently a professional residing in Boston and have a wonderful opportunity to advance your career but the advancement requires relocation, take into account some major factors: your family, extended family, friends, house, kid’s friends, classmates, etc. are in and around Boston. Now think about the opportunity for advancement and where it will lead you both professionally and geographically. Are you going to be moving to a place you like? If the answer is “no” and your main goal is to eventually land a better opportunity in Boston after a couple of years of experience you should strongly reconsider your relocation.
When you get the new promotion that requires you to move, there is typically a relocation package and emotionally it is all very exciting. Everything is in order to expand your career and your financial horizons. Your company helps sell your home, move your belongings and find a new house to purchase. All very exciting and once the wheels are moving you are gone. You say goodbye to your home and look forward to coming back in a few years with a promotion.
What unfortunately happens after the dust settles is not always what you may have dreamed of. A myriad of different unknowns pop up. You realize the job isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. Perhaps there is a personality conflict with your new boss or the division you moved to is struggling and you may loose your job. Also, if you have a family, you may discover that after uprooting them, your spouse and children are having a difficult time adapting to the new environment, the new school system or the general way of life. You may find that your support system was taken for granted or that building new relationships and finding dear friends takes many many years to establish. There are thousands of unknowns and many of these challenges way heavily on you and the family unit.
So what happens next? You tough it out and make it work. Even though the division you moved to had layoffs and no security, you make it through. Your two year plan to gain more experience is a success and you have advanced your career. You now have the experience you needed and can finally move back home to Boston to land the dream job you’ve been waiting for. You have a lengthy discussion with your family and it is unanimous. You are moving back home!
The problem is the next step in your career is not available. The position within your company that you are aiming for is currently filled by a competent executive and already has a future replacement being groomed for the role. So you start to search for a new opportunity. You find a handful of opportunities in Boston but get no calls back. There are no calls because all hiring managers will look at the candidates in their location first and then consider people who have to relocate. They do this because of the burden and challenges that comes with a move.
The good news is that your credentials are worth an interview with one of the companies. The hiring manager is doing interviews next Monday. You charge the flight on your credit card, take the day off, and fly to Boston. The interview is a success and the feedback is great. You make the cut. Second interviews will be held on the following Tuesday. You take the day off, charge the flight and again a huge success. You have now made the short list. The hiring authority asks you back the following Wednesday. You take the day off, charge the flight and make the shortlist to visit corporate the following Thursday. They are flying you and one other to corporate. This time the interviewing company pays for the flight. What a relief, but when you go to take another day off your boss gets suspicious. You are worried because now your current job could be in jeopardy. You have no choice but to move forward and start to think about what needs to get down to make this a success.
You start to set expectations with your spouse, you start thinking about putting the house on the market, hoping you make money on the sale and hoping it will not take too long to sell. You are mid way through the school year and need to figure out if you are going to take the kids out of school or keep them in school and move to Boston without your family. You start to think about buying a home in Boston and paying two mortgages until your current home sells and realize very quickly that moving back is going to take some serious sacrifice, some large financial concessions and many geographic challenges. All of which were not present when your company relocated you the first time. You decide it can be done, so you go on the final interview and things go very well. The hiring authority qualifies you and mentions that you will need to start in one and a half weeks. You agree on the start date, and to move without your family. You find out that a decision will be made within two days. Two days go by and you get the call. The company has decided to move forward with the other candidate that currently resides in Boston. You were the second runner up. You are thanked for going through the process and it is over.
To some degree you are thankful because you realize that you were not ready to make the move and you need time to get your ducks in a row. So you are faced with starting the process all over again. You think about the cost just to interview, the time off it will take to get a new job, selling your current house, finding a new house, the prospect of starting your new job in Boston without your family, etc. The list goes on and on. Finally you realize that if you are going to advance your career it is best to be where you are. That is when you realize that moving back is not an option. You and your family debate some really harsh realities and wonder if you will ever make it back.
Therefore, when considering relocation for an advancement in your career, look at all the angles. It may be an extremely exciting prospect at this point in time, but what are your ultimate goals? If you are setting your expectations that this role is temporary, I would reassess your thought process and consider your priorities. Remember: your career is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Don’t just think about the immediate situation, consider the journey ahead.
Good luck!
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What’s your message?
I was recently picked to film a video for a project that Treeline is working on. The video was originally done by one of my colleagues but then we needed to re-record it due to technical reasons and he wasn’t available. Long story short, I had to record myself doing this pitch that was written by him.
I spent a few hours in a room all by myself, staring into a camera, saying a pitch over and over again and when I finally felt I was done, I showed it to my CEO. I thought that he’d view the video and ‘ok’ it and I could get back to the phone. Wishful thinking.
“You are waayyyy too salesy in this!!” he says. “Do it again and stop being so salesy – be yourself.” I am myself…I am not salesy…I’m Sean. Regardless, if the man wants me to do it again, I have no choice but to do it again. I spend a few more hours and change my tone, I try to be a little more candid in my approach and change the inflection in my voice.
I bring my CEO back in and with all the confidence in the world that I have given him what he wants, I show him the finished product. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sean, but you come across as arrogant. I know that you are not arrogant but the guy on this screen is arrogant. Do it again and try not to be so cocky.”
So, I go back at it. I take all the color out of my voice. I pretend that I am reading stereo instructions and that my voice has only one tone. I sound like an automated voice mail service, “Please hold while the Nextel subscriber, you are trying to reach, is located…” I act like I just woke up with zero ‘umph’ – I am boring. At this point, I am doing everything he is asking, there is no way that I can be considered arrogant or salesy in this; this has to be a direct hit. I feel like I hit a home run and it only took me 8 hours.
I show my CEO for a third time. Six seconds into watching the new video he interrupts with, “I hate it. Take a break and we will have to see if you can take another stab at it tomorrow.” Let the record show that I did not volunteer nor did I want to do this video but the fact that I could not do it was not sitting well with me at all. I am a competitive person and I hate losing…this was a huge loss.
I went home and I racked my brain through the night. As I polished off a bowl of ice cream, it finally hit me – the problem was not HOW I was saying the message but it was WHAT the message was saying. I sat down and I re-wrote the script. The message was consistent from before but now it was my words.
I got into the office early the next day and filmed it again. By the time my CEO got back in I had a few takes done and ready for viewing. “That is so much better.” He said. “That is a genuine message and I believe in what you are saying.”
I won. I was relieved at the fact that I was not incapable of doing this and the only reason that I questioned myself is because I was only looking at the problem from one vantage point. When you are faced with a problem don’t waste your time and beat your head against the wall with one solution. Look for multiple potential solutions and see what works. It is not always how you are conveying the message, but the message itself…duh.
BTW, we decided not to use my footage at all and went with the video of my colleague – life lessons are everywhere…like remember to delete unusable footage. Someone got hold of mine – keep your eyes peeled on youtube for my outtakes. Live and learn.
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10 Questions to Ask in an Interview
One of the most over looked but important parts of any interview is asking questions of the interviewer. I cannot count how many times I have received unfavorable feedback from a client that the candidate didn’t ask any questions. By asking questions you are indicating your interest in the position and that you are taking the search seriously.
Some examples of questions to ask:
- Why is this position open?
- How long have you been in your position?
- How long have you been with the company?
- What do you like/dislike about this company?
- What are the characteristics of your top performers?
- What mistakes do new hires typically make?
- What do you know now about this role that you wish you had known?
- What is the typical growth path from this role?
- What is an average sale for this role?
- What is the quota for this role?
Remember, the key to asking questions is to make sure that you write them down and bring them with you to each interview. Write down the answers that you are given to help you with any decision making. One last important point is to make sure that you ask each person that you meet the same questions. As a candidate you are looking for consistency in answers and each person you meet with wants to feel like you have prepared for their time by asking questions.
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Polite Persistance
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? If you have my guess is that you may have gone to a casino? When you went, how long did you play for? How many tables did you sit at?
Five minutes or so? You played one hand and then you were out of there?
I didn’t think so.
If you decided to gamble, than I’m pretty confident you made an evening of it at the least. You probably played several different hands at several different tables – trying your luck at a variety of different games. You did that because you wanted to win – and you understood that the probability of winning playing just one hand was slim to none.
This makes sense right? Than why do 80% of the Sales Professionals in the world quit after the first call? Another 5% quit after the second!
With the volumes of candidates looking for work, a job search in today’s market is more similar than we would like to believe to gambling in Vegas. We are all Sales People, and were trained that it is activity, numbers, and persistence that ultimately secures one’s success. So, then why aren’t we consistent? Why is ONE unreturned call suddenly a personal attack or sign of complete disregard of professionalism? Why do 80% give up?
The more you can continually think of the job search as a sales process the more successful you will be. If you are looking for a job you are ultimately, working….You are selling yourself. Last year I read an article that stated an average job search takes 6-9 months. That 6-9 months, is probably a bit longer in this market….that time is your sales cycle. Send your resume not once, but as many times as it takes to get noticed. Be creative. Make an Impact….. Persist Politely.
Remember, it is business, not personal. If companies are not getting back to you, keep trying. Hiring managers are receiving an unprecedented amount of resumes daily. Sending your resume once and expecting a call back is no different than flying to Vegas on the Red Eye, sitting down at the Craps Table, rolling the die once and expecting to leave a millionaire.
This job search may be the most important deal of your life. Don’t forget the basics. Persist politely…. 80% of your competition is flying home…
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212 Degrees: The Difference Between the Rainmaker and the Average Sales Professional
 http://www.212movie.com/
As a sales manager, one of your greatest responsibilities is to motivate your team. It is your job to build an enthusiastic and energetic environment that breeds an attitude of endurance, persistence and winning. Every sales manager has their own motivational tactics that they’ve used, but every once in a while it’s nice to have some type of collateral that speaks for itself.
A few months ago I showed a short movie to our team that got the blood flowing again. The movie is called 212 degrees and it is about the 1 degree that makes water boil. That one degree makes all the difference and for a community of sales professionals that one degree defines the difference between the rainmaker and the average sales professional. Please click this link to watch the video and share your thoughts.
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Summer time and the livin’s easy?
At this time of the year when the days are getting warmer and longer it is always tempting to think about taking some time off. As in, “I’m going to put the search on hold for the summer”. This always blows me away. Sure, the job market is tough but just because the weather is nice this is not the time to put things on hold. Personally, and I know I’m not alone with this, when a candidate tells me they are spending the summer at the beach I know that I am going to have a challenge taking them serious as a candidate. When football season starts and this candidate restarts their search the question that torpedoes their first couple of interviews is usually along the lines of, “So what have you been doing all summer?” When that response describes hanging out at the beach the interview for all intents and purposes is over.
While there is never a great time to be looking for a job, the summer, at least is the most palatable season. The great thing about the summer is that if you are out looking for a new job when you come to a roadblock or disappointment you can go to the beach and forget your cares for a few hours.
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The ABCs of Noncompetes in Massachusetts
By Kenneth J. Rossetti, Esq.
Whether you are a candidate for a sales position, or an employer looking to fill a sales role, you will likely become a party to a noncompetition agreement, or a “non-compete,”- particularly since such employment typically furnishes access to the employer’s intellectual property or trade secrets.
What is a “non-compete”? In basic terms, a non-compete is a written agreement whereby the employee acknowledges the employer’s intellectual property/trade secrets, and the employee agrees, in return for receiving compensation and other benefits of employment, to refrain from working for the employer’s competitors over a defined period of time, and in a defined geographic region, if the employment relationship ends for any reason.
In Massachusetts, a state rich with technology firms of all sizes and fields, non-competes are common, as companies invest significant time and money to develop products and services that differentiate themselves from their competition. Sales positions are particularly appropriate for non-competes, as sales professionals, unlike many other employees, they enjoy simultaneous access to the “two keys to the kingdom:” (1) the employer’s trade secrets and (2) the employer’s clients. While a fluid workforce is inevitable, companies nonetheless wish to minimize the potential for harm, posed by the departure of employees with access to confidential information, by requiring employees to sign non-competes, usually at the start of the parties’ relationship but sometimes after the commencement of employment (the preferred practice is to execute a non-compete at the start of employment).
Although non-competes are common in Massachusetts, non-competes will only be enforced by a Massachusetts court if they meet certain criteria. Such agreements must protect a legitimate business interest of the employer (such agreements cannot protect against ordinary competition); they must be reasonable in geographic scope; and they must be reasonable in duration (the period during which the employee must refrain from working for a competitor after the employment relationship ends). The reasonableness of geographic scope and duration are very fact-specific matters and are evaluated under numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the nature of the employee’s work and position; the employer’s products and services; the nature and location of the market in which the employer competes; the number of the employer’s competitors; and the months or years in which the departing employee is commanded to refrain from working for a competitor.
If you are a candidate for a position, be sure to disclose to your prospective employer whether you are subject to a non-compete – and if you are looking to hire someone, be sure to ask your prospective employee whether he or she is a party to a non-compete, and with whom. A candidate’s acceptance of a position with a competitor, while the candidate is bound by a non-compete with a previous employer, is problematic for both the candidate and the successor employer, who each may be subject to litigation by the candidate’s former employer.
In sum, while non-competes are realities for many sales professionals and the firms that employ them in Massachusetts, non-competes must also meet the specific parameters set forth above in order to be enforceable, and the satisfaction of those criteria turns on numerous factors, such as the market served by the employer, the nature of the employee’s position, and length of time under which the non-compete is to be enforced.
Non-competes must be carefully drafted and reviewed in order to be enforceable, and disputes regarding the enforceability of non-competes are frequently litigated, and have been the subject of contentious lawsuits in Massachusetts courts for decades. Therefore, if you are required to sign a non-compete, or if you want to ask a new hire to sign a non-compete, you should seek legal counsel, as there are significant implications for employers and employees alike.
Attorney Ken Rossetti has been a licensed attorney in Massachusetts since 1997, and his practice covers various employment-related matters, including representing employers and employees regarding the review, drafting, and litigation of non-competes. Ken welcomes your telephone calls at 781-944-4200, ext. 203, and e-mails at krossetti@BartonRossetti.com, to discuss how he may help you. Ken is not affiliated with Treeline, Inc., and this article, furnished for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice. Please seek legal counsel if you have questions about non-competes, or any other legal matter.
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