Using the ELAvate Sales Meeting Observation Process Checklist to Boost Salesperson Performance
by Michael J Griffin
Research by Chally Assessments and other sales productivity consultants identify a top competency of successful sales managers is to regularly participate in joint sales meetings with salespeople. Attending joint sales meetings with your salespeople offers excellent opportunities to observe and coach your salespeople to be more skillful and knowledgeable when meeting customers. This leads to more motivated salespeople that close profitable deals faster.
There are three types of sales meetings when you and your salespeople meet a customer, each with a different objective:
Joint Selling Meeting where both of you and the salesperson use selling skills and solution knowledge to move the sale forward together.
Modeling Meeting where the Sales Manager sells and models selling skills and solution knowledge for the salesperson to observe and learn in a real sales meeting.
Salesperson Observation Meeting is where the sales manager refrains from selling to intently observe the selling skills and solution knowledge of the salesperson when meeting the customer.
Your monthly sales manager KPI’s & activities may include at least one joint sales meeting with each of their salespeople a month. ELAvate has developed a clear process with step-by-step directions for an effective Sales Meeting Observation. There are three steps that happen in an effective Sales Observation Meeting:
Pre-Sales Meeting Briefing – The sales manager meets the salesperson before the sales meeting and discusses and checks on the preparation of the salesperson to meet the customer. Both agree on the type of joint call, the selling skills and knowledge to be observed, and set a primary and secondary sales meeting objective.
Sales Meeting Observation – Here you and the salesperson are in the sales meeting with the customer. Salesperson selling skills or product/solution knowledge are observed by the sales manager and s/he takes accurate notes to document specific examples of salesperson selling skill use and product knowledge. Doing this well leads to better coaching after the sales meeting is finished.
Post-Sales Meeting Debrief – This debrief is done not while driving. Try to discuss over coffee or back in the office. Discuss what salesperson did well and areas for improvement for both selling skills and product/solution knowledge. Conclude with the salesperson agreeing to an action plan to improve or sharpen his/her selling skill, product knowledge, and possibly a strategy to move the sale forward.
Sales Managers should employ sales coaching skills in the pre-meeting brief and the post-meeting debrief. Having in a collaborative coaching mindset with skill will lead the salesperson to accept feedback and implement the improvement action plans.
You can download the ELAvate Sales Meeting Observation Process Checklist here. Reproduce this checklist every time a joint call is scheduled with your salespeople to ensure your joint sales meetings are informative and productive.
Remember, excellent world-class sales managers regularly schedule joint sales meetings with their salespeople to accelerate sales success through effective coaching and sales meeting observations.
Schedule these joint sales meetings with your salespeople this October and make it a banner month for improving sales team performance. Keep coaching!
Michael J Griffin
CEO & Founder ELAvate
Global Sales Productivity Consultant