Skip the doughnut – how to maximise your meetings (and save calories!)

I heard an expression last week that resonated so strongly I wanted to share it.

I had just attended an excellent meeting with Jay from ANZ Bank, part of our referral partner network. It was a highly focused hour of business, with clearly defined goals and positive outcomes.

As we wrapped up, I complimented Jay on the meeting because it was an outstanding example of how quality content and careful planning can create great results.

I shared with Jay my approach to sales team coaching explaining that I always advise teams to steer away from a casual ‘let’s catch up for coffee’ and stress the need to thoroughly prepare for a sales or client meeting by:

• Preparing an agenda – particularly if you are the person calling the meeting.
• Providing clear objectives (remember that ‘relationship building’ is not an objective).
• Knowing exactly what value you will bring to the meeting.

In return, Jay shared an internal insight with me. At ANZ, the ‘let’s catch up for coffee’ approach is called a ‘coffee and doughnut meeting’.

“The doughnut represents a big fat zero. The zero value that the client and the bank will get from such a meeting,” he said.

I could not have described this ‘waste of time’ better.

According to research by authors Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, 87% of buyers do not feel they have received any value from meetings with sales people*.

And when you consider that sales people only spend 35% of their time in actual sales engagement^, that’s a significant amount of wasted time.

So next time you call a meeting – whether internal, sales related or with a client – start here:

• Provide an agenda with a ‘hard stop’ finish time.
• Have clear objectives about what you want to achieve, how you want others to feel and what you want them to receive from the meeting.
• In all sales or client meetings, make sure you deliver some insight and value. Just 15 minutes of research into the client’s business can bring you deep insights, allowing you to raise the calibre of your conversation and generate more value.
• For sales or client meetings, have a list of specific questions to lead the conversation where you want it to go.
• Close the loop by sending an ‘echo’ email after your meeting. Summarise the purpose, agreed outcomes, assigned actions, next steps and delivered value from the meeting to all involved.

Let’s make it easier for sales people to stay focused and meet their targets. If you want to know more about maximising meetings, I’d welcome the opportunity to meet with you (I promise I’ll provide an agenda).

Feel free to send an email to gbohanes@eccoc.com.au to arrange an appointment.

*‘The Challenger Sale’ by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson

^CSO Insights https://www.csoinsights.com