Creating a Sense of Urgency at the End of June
How do you capture the attention of your sales team on a Monday-morning sales meeting? You need to plan the meeting effectively and make sure your opening has impact. Today, I announced: "There are only 10 days left in June!" I did this for several reasons:
- I wanted to wake up and shake up everyone's thinking at the outset of the meeting.
- It was important to create a sense of urgency in everyone.
- I created a theme for the month.
If you are a first-time sales manager or even an experienced one, having a Monday-morning sales call for any size team takes preparation. You cannot begin without thinking about the outcome and intent of the meeting. With my clients, we use a sales meeting agenda and stick with a standard format. This keeps everyone on task. Also, keeping everyone involved is important and getting to the point is critical.
In today's meeting, we had 15 people with the vast majority on telephones. We covered a lot of topics in less than 40 minutes with good communication.
Creating a sense of urgency is critical. As a first-time sales manager, staying focused on achieving sales objectives is an important aspect of the job. Making sure your sales team is increasing their sales tempo is a must. I sometimes find salespeople making one appointment per week per prospect. If they are hot, see them twice a week!
Move the opportunity faster. If you are always waiting until the last week of the month or quarter to achieve your objectives, it will grind you down and your odds of success will decline. Keep an attitude of "What can I do today to move this sales opportunity forward?" as the mantra that each of your salespeople must feel and keep focused on. (Hint: Create that as a sign and hang it in your sales area.)
I have written often about creating a theme for the month or quarter. Themes can be fun or serious, but they always are focused on selling. Creating an atmosphere of performance takes leadership, attitude, fun and support. As a new sales manager, maintaining that balance is an important function of your job. In my new book, "SLAMMED!!! The Guru's Guide for the First Time Sales Manager" (out later this month), there are nine chapters on building a high-performance culture.
What else can you do to increase the sense of urgency of your team? Let me know and I will post your comments. If you would like a copy of a Monday-morning sales meeting agenda template, send me an e-mail at [email protected].
Posted by Ken Thoreson on June 02, 2014