I proudly boast being the very first person to deliver a webinar to some of the largest distributors in this country. I flew to Seattle to do the first live national webinar for all of PPAI. Those were the days… long, long ago. NOT! That was only 10 years ago and, in the interim, the world has both embraced webinars and moved beyond.
As a distributor, you sit in two seats that used to require face-to-face communications. The first, to listen and learn what your suppliers can do for you and, ultimately, your accounts. To suck up all the creative ideas, case histories and concepts that make you grow as a consultant. Despite the inconvenience, your door had to remain open to all those suppliers who committed to you not to sell direct. You were, and are, their sole outlet to the market. Like any sales organization, you need to be motivated and educated. The second seat is one where you play it forward to your client’s and prospects reacting to their needs, proactively helping them solve problems, etc., with the arsenal of solutions provided to you by your suppliers.
As suppliers, your meeting objective is to motivate, inspire and educate your distributors about your products and give them the ability to promote it forward.
The webinar was ground zero for where we are today in communication and where today’s sales strategy is focused. I had a solid plan for webinars. I met with over 5,000 distributors in three years. Step one was to get the appointment. That was done by snail mail, email and telephone. Because I was creative and early into webinars, I had a great batting average. Step two was to cluster a bunch of non-geographically competing distributors in one webinar to save both time and money. Step three, was to prepare and send a meeting kit in advance of the meeting. Within the kit were the samples, fliers, catalogs, etc. that we were going to talk about. Also enclosed was a coffee cake, peanut butter crackers or even a small bottle of wine... depending upon what time of day the meeting was. The box was clearly marked HOLD FOR SOUNDLINE MEETING MARCH 26, 2010. WARNING – DO NOT OPEN UNTIL MEETING UNDER PENALTY OF LAW – SEE MATTRESS TAG FOR PENALTY. This got the attention I wanted, got what I needed in their hands and set the table for a fun event. Step 4 was to send no less than two reminders and ask for confirmation in return. Step 5 – go online, keep it fun, keep it light and keep it moving.
From then until now, not much has really changed. Yes, there are more competitors asking for time and there are more efficient channels of communication. This meeting portal grows every day because it has become faster, cheaper and better. It fits how today’s buyer wants their connective relationship. Webinars still thrive and should be looked upon as bulk, non-personal, communications. I’ve done thousands, but there was no relationship building when a question is typed or asked by a faint voice... “Hi, I’m Bob and have a question.” Still, I suggest you use webinars for bulk business building and perhaps let these webinars open the next door for more personal interaction.
My first experience with Skype was calling home from China. It took only one call to see just how great it was. This form of communication lacks only the ability to have physical contact – a handshake, a kiss, a pat on the back. It can mix in every other positive element of one-to-one contact and broadcast enthusiasm, affection, understanding, etc. The expression, “Did you get the message?” cannot only be spoken, but seen in the facial expression and gestures on screen. Streaming two-way audio video is sales utopia. Skype currently allows up to 10 people on one call you can generate – 10 in one company or 10 different companies. It allows screen sharing and other features.
Skype and Facetime are just two channels for communication you should be actively embracing now for your sales meetings. YouTube videos can coach you to pro status in just a few hours.
Today, more than ever, sales calls need to be events. The Millennial world demands it and the generation “hatching” now won’t know any other way. Effective sales meetings require effective planning:
1) Theme. A short, catchy “inspire me to participate” theme heightens interest in keeping your date.
2) Make meetings short, but be prepared (written contingency plan) if the contact on the other side wants more or goes off on a tangent.
Attention spans have become non-existent. People don’t look down to see if they have crumbs in their lap, but to text, email and multitask. Plan content blocks. More is not better. More can void all the information you have presented when you reach a saturation level. Your mission is to present a few content blocks, perhaps in a regular order, or customized by product, application, etc. If you get the signal more content is wanted, add a block or two as needed. No need to ad lib or wander if you have content blocks ready. If your call was good, then it is easy to have another call in a few weeks.
3) Make your meeting content edgy. It really does not matter what you want to discuss, it matters that you bring it to the front in an edgy way; edgy being a video, a story, a grand entrance so that it commands attention, promotes retention and keeps focus.
4) Leverage your digital assets. Brief, short, snips expressed in live action, animations, etc. have greater impact on millennial audiences than ever. If you have a hospital product, take your phone with you, go to the hospital and film it on location. Above all, get a Dropbox account. Take all the assets you use in your calls and deposit them there. Clearly title them, even print a “user’s guide” to digital tools. Open a general link and make sure all your call partners get that link so they can pull down the asset and use it at will.
5) Customize or be turned off. Canned presentations didn’t work 50 years ago and do not work today. If what you show in an image or video can be customized before your meeting, do so. Your relationship bonds on a different level when your sales partner realizes the work you are willing to do for them.
6) Tell a story. Minimize PowerPoint presentations. Slide shows can be boring, but stories engage. They should be short stories, but by giving a case history on how something was used, you can get in all the sales points you wish and do it in a concise and engaging way.
7) Be contagious. Nothing beats enthusiasm. Rudy would never have played the few downs he did had he not been driven to do so by an enthusiastic being that never believed in the word “no”.
8) Fun, gamification. Hey, I’ve got five spot questions to ask in the next five minutes and if you get four or more, you get a ?????. Need we make any case for games? Learning improves with gamification.
9) Develop everything for pass along use. If you are a supplier, build it for distributors to use. If you are a distributor, build it for your buyer to use with staff and supervisors.
Test your plan and meeting with fellow sales people. Do this until you are comfortable with your presentation and don’t sound like you are reading a script. Be prepared with follow up, from an immediate e-mail or snail mail thank you to something special in lumpy mail. Try to pencil in the next meeting. If it is required, be sure to do so. If it is just another casual contact, get consensus in a week or month. Always leave a meeting with a reason to have another one. Finally, Yelp Me. If you give good sales meeting ask for a note, a review. Use any recommendations to build an all-star reputation which will help you gain appointments with others.
Facetime ain’t your daddy’s face to face, but it may be your only access and certainly saves money.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds "I was a distributor." He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor Magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.