Sales meetings are vital to the success of any organization, but they’re also often seen as boring and time-consuming — especially in today’s remote work environment. But plenty of sales leaders are finding new and creative ways to keep their teams engaged, informed and productive.
Back in the days of in-person meetings, Greg Gillman, chief revenue officer at digital marketing agency MuteSix, required everyone to turn off their laptops and phones to keep team members from getting distracted. Now that sales meetings are held over Zoom or Google Hangouts, Gillman has made it a point to ask questions frequently and call on individual team members so they stay engaged and involved.
Built In LA caught up with Gillman and three other sales leaders across Los Angeles to learn more about the tactics they’re using to make meetings productive and engaging for the entire team — even in a remote setting.
Adtech company The Trade Desk helps brands and their agencies deliver relevant ads across multiple devices. To best serve clients during meetings, Senior Account Executive Erika Fowler said she makes it a point to have conversations about industry news, landscape changes and how the team can collaborate on solutions.
How often do you hold sales meetings with your team and what are the key objectives of those meetings?
I focus on partnership and landscape conversations in my meetings with clients — especially because our industry changes daily. The cadence varies by client and need, but we’re always ready to have conversations daily, weekly or monthly depending on the ask.
Keeping up with our fast-paced industry can be challenging, so staying curious is key. I love learning all of the ways our product is helping solve real business problems for our clients. My objective in a meeting is simply to have a conversation about industry news, landscape changes and how we can work together to come up with a solution. The more I keep challenging myself to learn, the more I can act as an advisor to my clients by bringing education and knowledge sharing to the table.
Keeping up with our fast-paced industry can be challenging, so staying curious is key.”
What actions do you take before or during meetings to ensure they’re productive, useful and engaging?
Before a meeting, I focus on three things: knowing the client’s business, knowing their strengths and knowing the problems they’re trying to solve. I do my homework, whether it’s centered around an introduction to a new brand, bringing a recommendation to the table that is product-focused or providing an objective point of view on the landscape.
I try to build trust by actively contributing to the conversation and demonstrating our team’s knowledge and expertise. It doesn’t mean I will know every answer to every question, but conversations are exponentially more productive when you’re prepared and informed.
What role do your salespeople play in shaping the conversations and/or decisions that take place in those meetings?
At The Trade Desk, transparency and objectivity are core pillars of our ethos — meaning they drive every conversation I have. I remind myself before every meeting to listen to our clients’ needs and to not lose sight of why we are discussing in the first place.
As salespeople, our role is to identify whether we share a similar vision of the problem and if we are aligned on the next steps to solve it. I do this by setting agendas, building resources, asking questions and most importantly, gathering opinions. Thinking around corners and keeping track of all the individual conversations is also critical to the success of the business to avoid making decisions in silos. As a salesperson, you gain a deeper understanding of how all these components work together to set the business on a productive path forward.
Digital marketing consultancy Hawke Media holds morning sync meetings Monday-Thursday. Director of Sales Nick Natale said that each day is designated for a specific objective, whether it’s to discuss current projects, accomplishments, review calls or hold training sessions.
How often do you hold sales meetings with your team and what are the key objectives of those meetings?
We meet as a team Monday-Thursday mornings. Mondays are for projections, commitments and shoutouts. In addition to projects, the team often shares an accomplishment from the week before or a major focus area for the upcoming week.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are for training sessions that include call reviews, objection handling and other exercises to jump-start the day. Wednesdays are reserved for partner lunch and learns, or new product rollouts. If we don’t have either of those, we cut the meeting short so we can attack the day earlier.
We also have a 15-minute daily sales sync at 2 p.m. if you don’t have a sales call at that time. The key objective for this meeting is to simulate the office banter that was once common on the sales floor, from jokes to shoutouts or the occasional competitive challenge. It’s vital to maintaining a healthy and competitive sales culture in a remote working environment. This meeting is laid back and a great way to say “hello” to your team.
What actions do you take before or during those meetings to ensure they’re productive, useful and engaging?
I always look for and encourage participation in those meetings. Sometimes it starts with me giving an example, but oftentimes, one of the veteran sales reps is eager to share. Whether it's discussing a goal, sharing a win or describing your process, there’s plenty to learn or take away from our sales meetings.
Whether it’s discussing a goal, sharing a win or describing your process, there’s plenty to learn or take away from our sales meetings.”
What role do your salespeople play in shaping the conversations and/or decisions that take place in those meetings?
The topics of the training sessions are heavily influenced by requests from the team or suggestions from the senior reps. The participation of the sales team is what makes up much of the content in those meetings. Questions are encouraged and problems are solved in real time.
INTELITY is a hospitality software program that offers users fully integrated solutions to better connect and manage guest experiences and staff operations. Senior Vice President of Sales Erynn Torrenga said her team holds sales meetings once a week to discuss any deals in the pipeline and how they can get them over the finish line.
How often do you hold sales meetings with your team and what are the key objectives of those meetings?
We hold meetings once a week, with goals like chatting about where certain deals are sitting in the pipeline, identifying which ones appear most promising and how we can get them over the finish line. We also like to address any open items or challenges the team may have.
The most effective sales managers allow time for the team members to share thoughts, feedback and ideas.”
What actions do you take before or during those meetings to ensure they're productive, useful and engaging?
Before our weekly meetings, I remind the team to make sure their Salesforce opportunities are up to date so we can be sure we’re looking at accurate data. I also go through my notes to make sure I don’t miss communicating any changes or company-wide updates that the team needs to know.
What role do your salespeople play in shaping the conversations and/or decisions that take place in those meetings?
It’s an open forum. The most effective sales managers allow time for the team members to share thoughts, feedback and ideas. Also, I encourage team members to help set topics for the larger sales meetings –– sales meetings should be seen as productive and worthwhile for everyone on those calls.
MuteSix is a full-service marketing agency that provides scalable marketing solutions to clients across multiple industries. Chief Revenue Officer Greg Gillman said that they hold weekly sales meetings — one longer meeting and multiple short check-ins — to ensure constant transparency across the organization.
How often do you hold sales meetings with your team and what are the key objectives of those meetings?
We hold weekly sales meetings with the team to ensure there is constant transparency across our organization — this entails one wider team meeting and three shorter check-ins. Our key objective is to create a learning touchpoint by focusing on both recent successes and failures, and we review what’s working and what’s not to encourage participation from our sales development reps to C-suite leaders. If the entire team is involved in an open and honest conversation, we can spend less time on additional meetings later on, leading to higher productivity across the board.
What actions do you take before or during those meetings to ensure they're productive, useful and engaging?
Back in the days of in-person meetings, I would require everyone to turn off their laptops and phones and answer urgent emails beforehand. This year has forced us to move our meetings to Google Hangouts and Zoom, so I try to simulate the office experience by having the team keep their cameras on throughout to warrant full attention. I also find it helpful to consistently ask questions and call on people specifically to ensure everyone is engaged and involved in the conversation.
The purpose of our meetings is to serve the sales team so they can understand how to be more effective in their roles.”
What role do your salespeople play in shaping the conversations and/or decisions that take place in those meetings?
At the end of the day, the purpose of our meetings is to serve the sales team so they can understand how to be more effective in their roles. I’ve found that the most beneficial thing you can do is facilitate conversations among the staff versus “talking at” them. I do my best to recognize individual work and allow everyone to be heard, regardless of how long they’ve been with MuteSix.
