Planning a National Sales Meeting: Ideas & How to Plan

With the workplace and office becoming increasingly virtual, organizing a national sales meeting that can be attended in person can help teams connect, network with industry experts, and promote improved company culture. 

A national sales meeting requires organizations to understand their objectives and to ensure they execute a meeting around a selected theme. Through these efforts, it becomes possible for teams to improve their key selling skills and marketplace dynamics and help the company improve its topline performance. 

Converting nonexistent customers into paying clients is no easy caveat, especially with consumers now looking to spend less on the back of economic uncertainty. Knowing that employees are able to operate and improve both top and bottom-line performance through their selling skills can help companies boost their authority and create consumer-driven marketing strategies. 

What Are National Sales Meetings?

Depending on the size of the company, a national sales meeting is an annual event or gathering that helps organizations align their strategies with future goals. More so, these events are a way for companies to motivate their staff and generate exposure to new and upcoming products or services. 

National sales meetings are an opportunity that allows teams to understand the company objectives and to brainstorm key selling strategies that can improve their market share. On top of this, a national sales meeting can help inspire the sales force of the company and promote company culture. 

What Benefits Do a Sales Meeting Have?

Bringing everyone together in one place helps the company effectively communicate its forward-looking strategy and motivate team members. 

Other benefits of a national sales meeting include: 

Education 

Employees are more versed in the company’s products and services and will be able to understand their marketplace better. This is also a way to educate employees about direct competitors and how their skills can help increase customer conversion rates. 

Relationship Building

Aside from learning new skills, these events are also a way for employees to foster new connections with their peers and help them establish more grounded and productive workplace relationships. 

Align Company Targets

Understanding the company goals is one thing, but measuring it against expected targets can help motivate employees and give them proper guidance on how they will be able to achieve these targets.

Establish Company Culture

Another benefit would be to expose workers to the company culture. The company culture speaks about how the organization treats its employees, offers them new opportunities, and motivates them to pursue more challenging tasks while providing them with the necessary resources.

How to Plan a Sales Team Meeting?

With a large portion of the working population still working from home, at least 58% of doing so once per week, it’s crucial to plan a meeting whereby all employees can attend simultaneously. 

Establish Meeting Objectives

First off, set the objectives of the meeting and what the company is looking to achieve. If the idea is to boost sales or grow marketplace presence, clearly state this as the main objective of the event and plan around this. 

Set Expectations

Be sure that employees know what will be expected of them during and after the annual sales meeting, this way it’s possible to avoid disappointing or misleading any team members. 

Have a Team of Planners

Ensure that a team of employees is in charge of planning the annual sales meeting, or hire a professional team to do most of the work. At this stage, it’s also important to include a potential budget for the event. 

Schedule the Meeting

Select a time when all employees will be available, and consider those who might work outside the city or state. 

Acknowledge Different Elements

Understand that logistic, financial, or personal reasoning might be why some employees aren’t able to attend the national sales meetings. In this case, make sure that an alternative solution can be provided to them to include them.

Get People Involved

Activities during the event should promote engagement and ensure that employees are involved in the discussions. Have different activities that cover all the necessary elements of the event, and make sure that employees are able to learn from this and build peer-to-peer relationships. 

Prioritize Networking

While planning the activities, be sure to have regular intervals where employees can socialize with one another or network with other people from different branches of the company. If you’re inviting a guest speaker, be sure that there is enough time for employees to ask questions or connect with the speaker

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Sales Meeting Theme

Keeping national sales meetings interesting yet exciting requires planners to consider different types of national sales meeting themes that can cover a wide range of different topics. 

Growth 

The theme of this meeting is to help inspire and motivate teams or individual employees to develop their skills and improve their abilities. This meeting structure is best suited for companies that want their employees to boost their personal development alongside that of the company. 

Motivational 

A motivational theme allows team members to feel inspired, energized, and excited about future goals, whether they are personal or related to the company. The motivational structure can help employees feel energized for the year ahead and ensure their vision is on helping the company achieve its predetermined goals. 

Team building 

Finally, another team meeting idea would be for team building, which allows employees to engage with their colleagues in a less formal setting and harness a collective company culture among all members of the organization. 

Where necessary, ensure to have sales organization accommodates virtual national sales meetings for sales staff and sales teams or other sales representatives that are not able to attend any in-person sales kickoff meeting

FAQ 

Conclusion

With the digital office, it’s easier to host virtual sales team meetings, but in-person engagement has been found to help motivate and inspire employees better. Make sure that the sales team meeting has a forward-looking strategy, and that employees feel energized to enter the marketplace.