A Simple Sales Tool to Help the Sale Forward

One of the simplest tools sales professionals can use is the meeting agenda. Not only does it help focus your thoughts on key objectives, both the client’s and yours, but it can also you uncover potential obstacles or challenges before they could prove to be troublesome.

Used properly and consistently, they can reduce the length of meetings, especially where there are a number of participants from the buying organization, and uncover and confirm the decision hierarchy in the group.

There are some basic rules to using agendas. First, and some may not agree, we don’t believe in using agendas in the very first meeting with a prospect. Having said that, agendas should be used in all subsequent meetings. The reason they should not be used in first meetings is that they could limit the discovery process. As we’ll highlight in a minute, agendas serve to focus on specifics and help ensure that those items are fully addressed; this would be limiting and counter productive in an initial meeting where you are better served to open as many doors as the buyer will let you.

Going in to the second meeting and beyond, agendas are king.  As with PowerPoints (which I hate, but I read the rules), it is best to keep it short and simple, three to five items at most, three being better.

The agenda should be sent to the buyer at least 48 hours in advance of your meeting. This allow them to review (you hope), and question and/or add specific items. Should they make changes or additions, this gives you the opportunity to prepare in advance rather than having to dance on the spot.

One of the points should be your proposed next step assuming you survive the other items.  The reality is that you are much better off knowing if your proposed next step will not fly in advance when you can make adjustments, versus going through the whole meeting only to find out your objectives are not fully aligned.  There will also be times when the ultimate decision maker may not attend the meeting, but could back your next step paving the way to productive meeting.

Even if you sent in the agenda in advance, you should bring enough copies for everyone at the meeting and review you it at the start, ask again if anyone would like to add any items. Again this helps you avoid surprises and ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute and participate. Reiterate the next step, and begin.