A Good Sales Meeting Can Be A Great Investment. This past week, several members of the Hasseman Marketing sales team (and me) attended an intense, multi-day sales event at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. It was a “speed dating” style event where we got the chance to meet with a different supplier every 18 minutes. It was fast. It was productive. And…it was exhausting! We left with lots of ideas for our clients and ourselves.
I love to attend sales meetings and events like this because, though they do require time out of the office, they can really recharge your passion. You certainly get new ideas. But sometimes the most powerful takeaway can be an old idea that you have not implemented! Either way, I view these events as opportunities to invest in myself and my business.
But what do you do after the meeting?
One of the challenges I find with events like this is what comes next. We have all been there. After being out of the office for several days, we find that the world did not stop in our absence. As a matter of fact, I sometimes think things get more busy when I am gone! You get back to the office and face a pile of priorities, a mountain of emails and several emergencies. Despite the best of intentions, and tons of good ideas, you get back into the day to day and don’t follow up.
It’s called the Whirlwind…and it’s easy to get lost in it.
That’s why it’s so important what you do after the meeting or event. Remember, the event is an investment. It’s not just about pumping you up (though that’s great). The idea is to create a new and better business that is ready to grow. So here are a few things I try and do to make sure the ideas don’t get blown away in the whirlwind.
Schedule Time for A Debrief
After the meeting, before all of the ideas get lost (or the notes get thrown away) set some time to go over what you learned. By yourself or with the team, look again at some of the ideas that had you excited.
Get Specific Ideas on Paper
This seems obvious, but I often miss this step. I like to get the ideas I want to execute all in one place. Otherwise I spend a lot of time thinking “where did I write that down?”
Schedule Time to Implement
Now that you have gone over the meeting and created a list of “things to do,” put some time on the calendar to actually do them! My role is, if it is not on my calendar, it doesn’t exist. So create the time to make the plans come to life!
I always struggle to get events on my calendar. They cost you time and they cost you money. But every time I take the time to invest in myself and my business this way, I am glad that I did. It’s just important to make sure you take the time to make it worth it!
P.S. Congrats to the OPPA Promotional Group for putting on such a great event! If you want to learn more about us at Hasseman Marketing, check out our About us page.
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