Introduction

1 These notes will use the term “Sales Meeting” to include conferences and conventions. They cover any situation which brings together all, or part of, the sales force. They provide a means of personal communication with the group.

2 Organisations use them to:

(a) interchange information,

(b) increase the level of appropriate motivation of Sales Represen­tatives,

(c) provide the latest information on the Company’s marketing plans,

(d) introduce new products, and

(e) give inspirational addresses.

3 If the meetings achieve these objectives Sales Representatives can see more clearly the means of satisfying their needs and thus have the motiva­tion to achieve greater performance.

4 Meetings will usually achieve more of their objectives if someone has given Representatives the chance to contribute to the business of the meeting. They can make suggestions based on their experience and discuss conditions which frustrate their sales efforts. Essentially the possibil­ity of two-way communication give sales meetings their motivational nature.

Preparing For The Meeting

5 Effective Sales Meetings need careful planning and preparation. Inade­quate preparation often causes ineffective meetings.

Objective

6 People usually have a reason for calling a meeting but all too often they do not consider the reasons explicitly. If the meeting has a definite objective then Organisers should state clearly this objective – preferably in writing. The objectives of meetings could include one or more of ­introduce a new product, explain a new quota system, give information about competitors’ activities. Organisers should list the objectives which they believe they must achieve and those – desirable to achieve.

Agenda

7 Meetings should have an agenda of the matters to discuss and their order of discussion. Wherever possible, the people who will attend the meeting should have the chance to suggest items for inclusion in the agenda. Organisers should distribute the Agenda some time before the meeting to allow the Members attending some time to consider the matters being dis­cussed.

Program

8 Where a limited time exists, Managers should allow for additions to any agenda. Sometimes -it will prove useful to allot suggested duration times to the various matters the meeting will cover. Organisers should also distribute this program.

The Meeting Room

9 Organisers should chose carefully a comfortable seating room without excess noise and heat/cold. The meeting should have adequate lighting and the acoustic properties which allow all Members to hear each other well.

The Material

10 Managers should consider carefully the material to use in the meeting. Often Presenters should support the presentations with various aids such as charts, films, or demonstrations. Managers should aim to make them appro­priate to the situation and effectively designed.

Meeting Leader and Speakers

11 Leaders/Chairpersons fill an important role in most meetings.  They should maintain control of the group and keep it moving towards achieving the meeting’s objectives. In a sales meeting it often proves wise to allow each Speaker to chair the meeting during his/her presentation. This ap­proach reduces the formality of the situation and encourages Members to address the Speakers directly. However, the person in charge of a meeting should still have the ability to assume control if a particular Speaker takes more than the time allowed. For important Meetings it will prove wise to run full dress rehearsals to ensure effective presentations. Proper preparation of the Leader and Speakers probably rates as the most important aspect of preparing for a meeting.

Conducting the Meeting

12 The method of conducting a meeting will depend on the number present since the number will determine the means likely to prove effective in presenting the material. Probably larger meetings (say over twenty people) will require a little more formality. Lecturing, conference discussions, case studies, and role-playing could all have their place depending on the size and objectives of the meeting.

The Place for Meetings

13 Managers should select some fairly central place which will minimise travelling time. If Organisations can hold their meetings at a Branch or Head Office they tend to serve the secondary purpose of getting the Repre­sentatives to know the office staff better and thus achieve better co­operation and co-ordination in the future. If no suitable room at the office exists, it will prove necessary to obtain other accommodation. Meetings at the office frequently get interrupted by telephone calls, visitors, and requests from Senior Managers. Meetings held away from the office avoid these interruptions.

14 When a meeting covers some days Organisers often arrange for a residen­tial meeting. The Members can meet one another outside the meeting ses­sions. However if a Representative already spends a good deal of time away from home and living in hotels; they may not favour further steps away from their home.’

Frequency of Meetings

15 Effective meetings increase the chances of Representatives making sales, but lose selling time. Thus Managers need to make an economic compromise. Managers should only arrange meetings when they need to achieve a definite purpose. Often they choose a meeting time to coincide with poorer selling times (e.g. Friday afternoon, first thing in the morn­ing). Meetings held at these times (generally weekly) usually deal with day-to-day and week-to-week selling matters. Managers usually arrange larger meetings, conventions, and conferences either annually or half yearly and often time them to coincide with new developments in the market­ing situation.

Duration of Meetings

16 Organisation usually restrict regular weekly or two-weekly meetings to one or two hours duration. Generally this period gives enough time to cover all necessary matters. It proves difficult to keep people’s atten­tion for much longer periods – particularly if they have already had a long day on the road. Less-frequent meetings will last a full day with breaks for morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. Organisations will use Meetings lasting a number of days if it involves a major development in their mar­keting plan.

Summary

17 Sales meetings, conferences, and conventions can provide an effective means of achieving an appropriate motivational pattern in Sales Representa­tives. Managers, Leaders, and Speakers should prepare themselves carefully for Sales Meetings. The location, frequency, and duration of meetings should depend on the objective of the particular meeting

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