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Annual
Sales Meeting Planner
Your Perfect
Annual Sales Meeting
Are you ready to host an annual sales meeting and not sure where to start?
Use these tips from the experts to help you with the pre-event and event
planning that will ensure your annual sales meeting is a huge success.
| Annual
Sales Meeting Checklist |
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Pre-Plan:
Choose an environment for relaxed fun and learning, such as a resort
with sporting options and nice meeting rooms. |
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Key:
Make your venue fit your meeting. If you bring your gang to Maui
as a reward for great efforts, you will probably provoke a mutiny
if you try to keep them in meetings all day. If you must work them,
work them hard from seven in the morning until noon or one and then
cut them loose. This works less well at the casinos, where many of
your group may be suffering brain damage early in the morning. If
it is really to be a working meeting, you may be better off at an
airport Hyatt near Cleveland, where temptations and competition for
attention are fewer. |
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Pre-Question:
Ask the participants about problems and needs, strengths and frustrations,
themselves and their goals. Use questionnaires to personalize the
training portion of the meeting. |
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Pre-Budget:
Factor in the meeting location, transportation, lots of fun, great
food, awards, etc. |
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Spend
Lavishly On Trophies, Plaques and Certificates: Napoleon noted
"a man would give his life for a simple bit of colored ribbon."
Money spent on recognition is some of the best money you'll ever spend.
Recognition, no matter how small, motivates employees to take action.
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Key:
Base awards on activities that anyone can do and win. Better to
give lots of plaques to lots of people. Create several categories
to involve lots of winners: biggest sale, most new customers, highest
volume, fewest lost customers, most improved, fewest returns or cancellations.
If you give away a trip to Cancun for the top salesperson, everyone
knows who will win as soon as the contest is announced and no one
is motivated. |
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Example
of Creative Recognition: At one annual meeting, a company offered
optional break-out educational sessions. Every participant received
a certificate of completion that looked just like a college degree.
The program was set up so the certificate received was based on the
number of sessions attended. There were Bachelor's, Master's and even
Doctorate degrees. People were falling all over themselves to get
into the sessions. |
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Hire
a Good Photographer: Capture candid shots throughout the meeting.
Show them randomly on a huge screen during the closing festivities
to stimulate conversation, reminiscences and bonding. Use them after
the meeting in company publications to remind the attendees of the
good times and to inspire the folks who didn't attend to catch the
next one. |
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Start
With A Bang: Do group fun first. Play a round of golf, have a
big dinner. Show pictures from last year. |
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Play
Upbeat Music Before, After and During Breaks: People subconsciously
know its break time and mentally shift gears. When the music goes
off, people drift back to their seats and slip back into business
mode. Choose instrumentals over vocals; the goal is to set a mood,
rather than entertain. |
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Provide
A Regal Welcome: Have a short and sweet welcome-about 10 minutes-
from the chief executive officer at the first formal gathering. This
could include a personal story and thanks for the group's hard work. |
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Review
The Wins: List the victories of the past year and repeat a few
(short) stories of the biggest triumphs. |
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Spotlight
One Or Two People: Have them tell the group how they made a big
sale, saved a deal or used a new technique. |
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Thank
The Team: Thank-and applaud-the people that made it happen. |
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Award
The Best: Let the CEO and sales manager present high-quality plaques,
trophies and prizes. Have several categories to involve lots of winners. |
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Plan
Together: The next year is the focus of the meeting. Let the sales
team be part of the plan. Don't just give them the next year's game
plan. Let the sales team help make it. Making your sales team take
ownership of sales goals is only possible when they participate in
the process. |
Than you
to Jeffrey Gitomer, BuyGitomer,
Inc. author of The Sales Bible and Customer Satisfaction
Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless and Hank
Trisler author of No Bull Selling and No Bull Sales Management for
contributing their ideas.
Talk
with an awards specialist for ideas and suggestions to fit your budget
or see a variety of awards, gifts, and imprinted
products for your next annual meeting.
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