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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

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Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

// table of contents //

INTRODUCTION // 04

01 // 5 Types of Sales Meeting Venues // 05

02 // The New Business Meeting Etiquette and Processes // 09

03 // The Future of Meetings // 13

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

Are you wasting too much time in sales meetings that go nowhere? It could be that you are violating one (or all) of the three principles of effective meetings:

1. Make sure all the key stakeholders are represented

2. Give all stakeholders necessary background information

3. Have a secondary presentation for common objections readily available

Or it could be that you chose the wrong venue. When a customer needs some extra hand-holding and TLC and you chose to chat with them, the sales meeting could be a disaster.

// INTRODUCTION //

Thus, knowing which venue to meet with each client is just as important as nailing your sales pitch.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

01 // 5 TYPES OF SALES MEETING VENUES

There are 5 types of sales meeting venues and picking the one that best fits your (and your prospects) needs is imperative.

Below is information on each venue to help you select which one is most appropriate.

1. IN-PERSON

When making a good impression is key, in-person meetings should be at the top of your list. In general, the bigger the client, the more face time that is required to close the deal.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

This means being there to shake hands and look each other in the eye. In addition, if a company sells software or a service that needs to be customized for each client, going to the location is the only way to go. Although in-person meetings can be expensive, the

return can be huge.

2. VIDEOCONFERENCE

Videoconferencing is a cost-effective solution to traveling to an in-person meeting. It is a great tool to collaborate with decision-makers, showcase a product remotely, customize the SaaS solution to best meet

their needs or troubleshoot remotely to solve a technical issue. The biggest problem associated with a group of professionals trying to coordinate their efforts via videoconference is the inability to hear and see all of the meeting participants clearly. A great deal of clarity is lost in a videoconference when participants speak at the same time and it is not clear who said what. Avoid this common

pitfall by limiting participants to 5 and having each person introduce

themselves before they speak.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

3. INSIDE SALES

Using an inside sales team can be a very effective method to reach the most prospects with the least amount of wasted time. With tools like GoToMeeting, hosted CRM, social media, and browser-based call

center software, inside sales teams have everything they need to expertly close the deal remotely. And customers have come to expect to be pitched new products or solutions remotely. Not only does it save your team time, but it saves your prospects time; and when time is money, they could thank you by buying the product.

4. EMAIL

Email can be an excellent way to create a relationship in the early stages of the sales cycle or to strengthen a relationship between phone, video and in-person meetings.

Creating a targeted email with images or short videos can turn a simple email into a convincing sales pitch. The key is to be timely,

concise and relevant.

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5. TEXT AND SOCIAL MEDIA

The latest communication tools, including text, interoffice chat, and social networks, are ideal for answering simple questions and coordinating future meetings. Email inbox space is now too precious a

resource to waste on such simple communications. Find out how comfortable your prospect is with using these technologies. Then use them when appropriate. It is important to avoid discussing sensitive

issues or sending detailed attachments via these channels because

they are not as secure.

The five aforementioned meeting venues are all useful in different situations. Choosing the right one depends on your objectives, your client’s needs, your budget and your willingness to utilize new technology. Take some time to develop a comprehensive understanding of each one and then train your team to select the right format at the right time.

Doing so could mean the different between closing the deal or losing the customer forever.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

02 // THE NEW BUSINESS MEETING ETIQUETTE AND PROCESSES

With the advent of new technology comes a need for new etiquette and business processes that adjusts the established business norms to the new technological format. For example, the introduction of the telephone drastically cut short greeting time in conversation due to per minute charges.

This ushered in the new style of “Getting to the Point” in business and personal conversations. The following are suggestions for business etiquette and processes across different meeting types.

They will go a long way to helping make sure you aren’t violating business code of conduct or wasting valuable time working from old-school business rules.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

MEETING IN-PERSON VS. ONLINE

Meeting in-person necessitates professional non-verbal communication skills and excellent rapport building.

Artful expression and persuasion are key components to business meetings and many experienced salespeople find themselves floundering in online meetings as their non-verbal communication skills are no longer needed. To overcome this barrier, inside salespeople must become skilled at building rapport, pitching and

being persuasive without non-verbal communication.

Some tips include, remembering to smile while talking (as this gets conveyed through your voice), laugh when appropriate (as a quiet smile will not suffice), use the correct tone of voice and spend some time in the beginning with strategic small talk (as it can go a long way to building rapport).

1:1 VS. GROUPS

When people meet one to one, there is no confusion about who is talking and who is listening. Adding even one more person to the mix changes the dynamic and

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leads to inevitable interruptions and straying from the point unless all the participants have talking points or notes prepared. When a group meets, and all have something to add to the conversation rather than just sitting quietly as an audience, there needs to be another communication channel for subtopics and working units to discuss the developments.

That is why in-meeting text chats were developed, to handle cross

talk in a polite way, without interrupting the flow of the general

meeting. The benefit of text is that it distinguishes each participant along with their suggestions. The best in-meeting text chat software also accommodates preferences for joining conversations as a dedicated work group or as an individual.

INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL AUDIENCES AND CONTENT SECURITY

Sometimes you need to bring in meeting participants that work outside of your company or group. The problem is: How do you avoid inadvertent sharing of

sensitive information? A meeting cannot be effective unless all of the relevant content can be shared.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

However, there are security considerations as well. Make sure

you hammer these out before you start the meeting. Another key consideration in bringing in an outside audience is the “repeatability

factor.” A great deal of valuable time is lost in relaying important information to other team members after the fact. A better solution to this common problem is to record the meeting, set up meeting URLs and distribute relevant meeting content to interested parties.

INDIVIDUAL PREPARATION VS. COLLABORATION

The days when sales pitches were developed in isolation by one member of the sales team are long gone. Now, effective collaboration is king.

However, one of the greatest limitations on the speed of business occurs when coworkers need to work together on presentations and reports. It can lead to lots of one-upping, re-doing and endless edits,

if you don’t get a handle on things before they get off-track. To be more efficient and keep the collaborative culture alive, teams should allow participants to annotate or elaborate on specific topics within the shared content. This turns a simple presentation into a cross departmental collaboration that can bring a distinct competitive advantage within the sales meeting.

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

Effective and productive meetings are the heart of a successful business. Companies cannot survive without meetings that allow them to pivot in order to attack

the most important issues facing the business in a rapidly changing environment. The secret to mastering the art of the meeting is to take full advantage of new technology that can address whichever

challenge you face at the moment.

When sales teams collaborate effectively using the right mix of meeting types, they foster the kind of intense collaboration the drive serious financial performance.

03 // THE FUTURE OF MEETINGS

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// Sales Venues, Etiquette and Processes That You Should Be Using

Find out more about:

The all-in-one call center software for small and medium businesses.

Business phone and inside sales software for support, sales and marketing.

Browser-based call center software that takes 5 minutes to setup.Integrate with your business tools (CRM, Helpdesk).

Call monitoring and reporting (real-time and historical).

Sales Try Talkdesk for Free