Companies host internal sales conferences to prepare their sales people to, well; sell. These big rallies get the sales force pumped and ready for the months ahead, arming them with information, celebrating successes or recognising opportunities.
Shirley Anderson, Head of Sales Training and Recruitment, Virgin Active Health Clubs, tells us how she does it.
When do you host your internal sales conferences and what is the objective?
We aim to have one sales launch every three to six months, in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal.
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The objectives are:
To ensure that superstars are recognised, including top performers on selling memberships, team members who have been selected for management development programmes, and those who are doing other special things that support the values and principles that underpin a healthy sales team.
After the awards ceremony we motivate our sales consultants by ensuring they are educated on the opportunities that lie ahead in the next few months. We cover past performance, gaps, future team objectives and expectations, training initiatives, new product initiatives, marketing messages and sales tools available.
What works and what doesn’t?
What works
Be prepared. Use a team that is experienced in the set-up and objectives of the day. Communication is key.
Ensure the teams know they are appreciated. If our staff are happy, then our customer is happy. Lastly, ensure that there are one or two key take-away points that are easy to understand.
We always make sure that there is a small “take-away” for each attendee to ensure that they remember this when they go back to the club.
This take-away may be a sales tool or a useful gift that can be used every day.
But whatever the take-away it will support the message and makes it easier to implement the strategy in the way that is applicable to their role.
What doesn’t work
Don’t focus only on the sales team. It is always important to home in on all the departments that provide support for the sales team and help to enable their success. All teams are focused on working towards ‘Enriching Lives Through Activeness’, and need to understand the part they play in that.
Sales should never to be seen as operating in their own silo. We are all one team. Don’t over-complicate it. Keep the message simple, realistic and applicable to each person being addressed.
Who’s invited?
In Johannesburg we have a group of 620. In the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, we have between 230 and 250 attendees per event. Our sales team comprises of Sales Consultants, Sales Managers, Area Sales Managers, Sales Trainers and Heads of Sales.
The Club General Managers of the clubs are a key support to the teams, so it is imperative that their input is also recognised and that they understand how they can best support the teams. Other attendees may include regional experts in product, administration, or operations, all of which are a huge support to our teams.
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What does a typical agenda look like?
- Introduction and welcome from the MD
- Awards ceremony
- Sales Message – insights into our past and future performance. What we should look out for. Challenges and solutions.
- Marketing Message – this will include our marketing message, marketing tools and any product launches.
- Operational Message to our Club General Managers and Sales Teams on how we are aligning our daily focuses and thinking.
It’s important to ensure sales teams are not operating in silos, but are integral to the full journey of our customers from beginning to end.
How do you engage the various teams?
The day is about motivating and supporting our club and area level sales teams. Our heads of sales and other sales executives are aligned on principles during our quarterly national sales meetings, weekly conference calls and daily catch-ups.
What’s the ‘wow factor’?
The event is well planned and teams always look forward to the day.
Engagement starts early. Up to a month in advance, they will receive ‘Save the Date’ emailers. An official invitation is sent two weeks before the event. At this point the sales launch is the main topic
of conversation.
Speakers are well briefed and rehearsed on their message and how it should be portrayed. It’s important that entire teams across the country get the same message in the same way.
The venues are impressive – more than comfortable – and the sales consultants are made to feel important.
General set-up: Lighting, quality of presentation, music, running order and hand over to speakers is seamless, fun
and high energy.
Where are the events held?
We develop relationships with specific hotel groups and will generally use the same venues each time.
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How do you sustain the energy and message pre-event and post-event?
Our sales and general management team are key to ensuring that the message is never confused. Key opportunities are made relevant and are implemented at the clubs and the sales managers ensure the principles that were discussed are taken in to account during planning and implementation of the strategy. Our sales management tools and processes support the implementation and are the measurement of our success.
