ENGAGING PROSPECTS SERIES: 1-Running High-Impact Meetings

How many meetings are you in per week?

The average answer I get is between 15 and 25. That's a lot of meetings. Then I ask the next question. And how many of these meetings are productive? And this is where everyone shakes their head in disgust and causes a big sigh. The number is between 5 and 10%, think about that. Only 5 to 10% are productive, well run, glad I went, meetings. There's a word for this, it's called tragic.

You do know that there have been studies that indicate as professionals, we spend more time in meetings, than we do with our families. That's crazy. There's a better way. When you run your meetings, to be high impact. I want people to say, that was a great meeting. And you know what?

This is achievable. There are four disciplines and one skill to running high impact meetings and it starts at the start.

Every meeting you run should start with a purpose benefit check. This is the first discipline of running high impact meetings. Here's what one looks like. The purpose of this paper is to help you understand the five disciplines and one skill of running high impact meetings. That's the purpose.

What I hope you gain from this paper are some insights into how you can run your next meeting more powerfully, that's the benefit.

How does that sound? That's the check. Purpose, benefit, check, or how about this one, do you remember this one from the very beginning of this.

The purpose of this is to make you as efficient and effective in selling as possible. What I hope you gain from this series are several critical skills and disciplines that will accelerate your success with your small company, your large company and your life. The purpose benefit check shows your prospective customer that you're organized and prepared. It also puts you in command of the meeting.

This is your show, run your show. It creates alignment right at the critical point, the beginning of a meeting. Every meeting starts the same way. You make small talk, and then someone says, okay, let's get started. That's your signal for the purpose, benefit, check. And don't forget, it gives you credibility right now.

The key skill of running high impact meetings is asking the right questions. These are called impact questions. The second discipline is the pivot. Have you ever been in that meeting where someone just runs away with your meeting? They just get energy about something either relevant or irrelevant and they are just gone. We've all been in that meeting. Remember this is your meeting, it's your show. You have to bring them back to the meeting. So you can deliver on the promise you made at the beginning. Use your purpose, benefit, check, to pivot. Here's what a pivot might looks like. You know that's an interesting point. When we began a few minutes ago, we talked about the purpose of this meeting being to discuss x and y. We've only talked about x so far, so let's move to y. And then you start asking questions about or discussing y. Just pivot, you set up the meeting.

The third discipline of running high impact meetings is the closing. One of the reasons the vast majority of meetings are weak and unproductive is that they don't finish strongly. Most sales people simply run out of time, and you know what the close looks like in that situation.

It looks like we're out of time. Thanks so much, I will follow up with you in the morning. That's a terrible closing. This is your show, so get your act together. A closing has five things, not one. Summarize what you've discussed. Confirm, meaning did we get what we set out to do. Did you get what I promised? Then action steps and accountabilities.

You might also set up your next meeting and of course, say thank you. It's five things. When you close crisply, it signals yet again that you are in command of this meeting and it builds credibility.

The fourth and final discipline of running high impact meetings is to end early, most sales meetings are sloppy. This is what makes them unproductive. What I mean is we simply run out of time, but think about how manageable this is, just manage the clock. Put your agenda together in such a way that if it's a 60 minute meeting, you design for 50. If it's a 30 minute meeting, you start bringing it in for a landing at 25. This is not hard to do, it just takes discipline. So manage the clock and close early.

You can't believe the positive reaction you get from people when you consistently finish meetings early. You are literally giving them some of their lives back.

Read the full 11 part series - Engaging Prospects

www.ourhotelcommunity.com