Tis the Season...
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 8:42AM I know, I know. The holiday season is past. But now comes the National Sales Meeting season! Well, at least that is what it used to be. There is an interesting trend among some companies in the industry to cancel their National Sales Meetings...you know who you are. The question I have is WHY?!
There are several theories on why a company would cancel its natiional sales meeting. One of those is for saving costs. Now, unless the company is really strapped financially, and some of these companies are not, there is no financial reason to cancel the one time each year, senior management gets to convey its vision and expectations to the one group that has customer interface everyday of the year, the salesforce.
Another "reason" I have heard is, " We don't have anything new to launch, so why bring them all in to a big, expensive meeting ?" Really? That's the reason! That is the most important time to bring your sales force together and focus them on your core business. The old, BACK TO BASICS meeting.
Look, there are plenty of reasons not to have a meeting, but there is one huge reason to have the meeting. ...Revenue production in the coming year.
It is ironic, that if you were to call into any major company on a Monday, you will frequently get this response from the administrative assistant you are talking to, " They are all in the Monday staff meeting." These meetings run anywhere from 1-3 hours, again depending upon the company. So where is the weekly staff meeting for the sales rep? If you took all those Mondays and annualized them; you would have an annual meeting for inside staff. Time, expense, delayed travel to customers so the person could be at the meetings at a higher cost, etc. ...the case could be made that the costs are similar. Maybe not exact, but similar. With one distinction...the weekly staff meeting is with individuals who are overhead. The annual sales meeting is with the only part of the company whose sole purpose is revenue generation.
Those who know me, know that I often refer to the sales guy as the Outlaw Josey Wales. Why? Because the sales guy is usually out there alone. Doing the job that he/she likes doing. But that does not mean they don't need direction....and that direction has to come from Senior Management. At least once a year.
I loved my National Sales Meetings. It provided me the opportunity to state my case to the sales team unfiltered by a regional manager or a product manager or for that matter my boss. It set the expectation bar. Where we were and where we were going in the coming year. It gave me the chance to congratulate the performers and cajole the non-performers into doing things differently in the new year that would lead to their success. It gave the company a chance to re-educate and re-energize the people who generate the opening statement in every CEO's earnings call..." Sales for the quarter were...." or " Sales for the Year were...." Quite frankly, there is no reason not to have a sales meeting!!
If all shapes up the way the prognosticators ( analysts) talk, 2012 is going to be a challenging year for every company in our industry. Pricing, PODS, competition, new healthcare, old healthcare, new leaders, old leaders. All of these things will impact the sales force and now matter how independent they are, no matter how independent they say they are, salespeople need direction. Just like inside people need direction. That direction is best given at a National Sales Meeting.
Reader Comments (2)
I'm sorry, please indulge me as I take the best line out of this post... ".the weekly staff meeting is with individuals who are overhead. The annual sales meeting is with the only part of the company whose sole purpose is revenue generation."
Great post Rainman!
At 24 years old I was promoted to National Sales Manager for MGM Grand Las Vegas. Ex VP Joe Esposito and VP Sales Frank Vignola mentored me. They taught me on day one, that the amount of time a sales person spends visiting customers or prospects, face-to-face, is a required contributor to sales growth and volume.
Many of my sales meetings it was common to hear “get on the plane ”, so I missed most meetings traveling. Years later my sales approached landed me a VP job, after out selling the other " in office sale managers".
My values today have not changed as a sales person because you can only affect the outcome of a competitive sales process by presenting your case in person, face to face, with the person making the decision.
A customer’s mind can’t be changed over the phone or via email, nor can I see the customer’s micro facial body language. You can only show a product or it’s applications in person, look them in the eye and ask for the order.
Today’s Go to meetings.com or Webex does not allow the customer to touch your product or shake hands. Face time has increasing importance as the value of the order increases. As manager and owner, I manage my time to maximize customer face time and create long-term mutually beneficial friendships.