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Of all the errors a manager might commit in a sales meeting, one stands out as absolutely inexcusable, says an acquiring-industry executive.
"Wasting the staff's time is the worst mistake you can make in a sales meeting," says Greg Leos, vice president of payment-partner programs for Trustwave, a Chicago based data-security and compliance-services provider. "Make sure it's valuable, or don't have it all."
ISOs that avoid that misstep find sales meetings provide information on new forms, marketing materials, the company and the industry. Moreover, productive sales meetings can motivate and even inspire a staff to achieve or even surpass sales goals.
Meetings have become more motivational in recent years because the reporting on sales figures that used to take much of the meeting time has become computerized, says Drew Freeman, president of Miami Beach, Fla.-based Merchant Data Systems Inc.
Today's sales meetings hinge on accountability, motivation, goals and information-sharing, Freeman says.
Instead of reviewing numbers, sales managers now spend meeting time coaxing the staff to become more consultative in their approach to merchants, says Freeman. That includes training or reminding agents to offer prospects services that may include third-party payroll assistance; heavy-equipment financing, such as restaurant refrigerators; help with the new IRS reporting rules; merchant cash advances; or other loans that are not tied receivables.
At the same time, the age-old job of overcoming prospects' objections remains an important part of any series of sales meetings, Freeman says. Managers also would do well to emphasize the old standbys of positive mental attitude and respect for customers, he notes.
Emphasizing what has succeeded for members of the sales staff also makes good fodder for sales meetings, says Steve Eazell, director of national sales and marketing for San Diego-based Secure Payment Systems Inc. Anecdotes can provide tips in an entertaining way, he notes.
Mangers also should use meetings to keep the "numbers" in front of the sales staff so everyone knows how many deals the top achievers are closing and whether the deals include gift cards, check cards or other value-added services, says Eazell.
Meetings have their practical side, providing information on texting, downloading, commissions, funding and just about any other relevant topic that emerges, Eazell says.
Besides the many obvious advantages of meetings, the hard-to-describe...