Your customer-facing employees’ time is one of your organization’s most valuable and limited resources. Every conversation could mean the difference between earning more revenue or losing a client for good.
But, while we all know sales and customer service meetings are essential to driving revenue, few businesses put much time and effort into codifying or streamlining the logistics, management, and specific contents of these engagements.
More often than not, meetings are the most overlooked sales and CS activity. But, by making a more concerted effort to create more productive meetings (by improving the processes behind them), you’ll be well-prepared to boost your success.
I know what you’re thinking. If meetings are so critical, why do so many organizations overlook them?
The answer is surprisingly simple: no one realizes they’re doing it. Meetings have become such an integral part of our work that they’ve become invisible — in the same way that we don’t think much about the foundation of a building we’re inhabiting or the electricity powering a traffic light in a busy intersection. In fact, we rarely think about these things at all until something goes wrong.
Consider the traditional meeting process: First, a lead comes in and is assigned to a rep (or, in the case of customer success, they’re assigned an existing customer for a check-in). They reach out to the contact and then spend the next few hours (or days, or weeks) playing email tag to find a mutually available meeting time. Once they’ve scheduled a meeting, they send an invite (usually something quick and generic) and set to work preparing for the engagement. If all goes well, that engagement begets another meeting, and the process continues.
But meetings offer more potential than we realize. Not only are these engagements the fuel behind your revenue, but better meetings have the power to multiply those earnings and improve experiences for everyone involved. By making a few tweaks to your processes, you can improve meeting scheduling, time management, ensure reps and contacts are better prepared, and drive better meeting outcomes
There are three things you can do to improve meetings. And here’s the best part: they won’t create more work. If done correctly, all three of these action items can save you time and energy while improving outcomes:
• Take scheduling “busywork” off reps’ plates
Sales and customer success reps spend a lot of valuable time trying to find a calendar opening. It’s tedious, it’s monotonous, and, frankly, it’s wasted time. Your reps should focus on relationship-building, but shooting emails back and forth to find mutual availability eats into the time they could be spending having actual conversations. (If you don’t believe me, ask your reps to track how much time scheduling meetings. We promise it’s more than you’d like.)
• Make sure input matches the potential output
One of the biggest challenges sales and customer success reps face is conserving their time and energy and determining which engagements deserve the largest chunk of those precious resources. After all, not every meeting requires the same amount of prep work. The best way to ensure input matches output (and avoid burning out your reps) is by identifying the value of each meeting. We call it meeting math, and we share exactly how to do it here.
• Create better invites
Compelling meeting invites are an art form but, all too often, invites are an afterthought. It’s easy to assume that, because you’ve already interacted with a contact and they’re expecting the meeting invite, you don’t need to put too much thought into putting it together. But, like you, your contacts are busy and have to be careful about how they spend their time. If they end up double-booked, how will you ensure your meeting is the one they choose over another?
There is a formula to the perfect meeting invite, and taking a few extra minutes can ensure your current or prospective customers recognize the value you’re going to deliver. (Check out our post The Ultimate Guide to Best-Performing Meeting Invites for the do’s and don’ts of powerful invites.)
Your sales and customer success meetings can make or break your ability to hit your revenue goals, and it’s crucial you give them the time and attention they deserve. By taking these three actions, you’ll be prepared to land more deals and keep customers satisfied long-term.
Ready to eliminate reps' busywork so they can spend more time building lucrative relationships?