How to manage all of your sales meetings in one place
We all know the feeling when we glance at our calendar and discover how jam-packed it is with sales meetings, leaving you no time to focus on outreach or prospecting.
When it comes to managing our many meetings, it can feel like we are losing the battle and end up feeling stressed.
Sales reps manage a lot as it is — running and reviewing their meetings, conducting a demo, or trying to close the deal.
Although, it doesn’t have to be like this.
There are ways you can effectively manage all your meetings in one. Sure, it might take some time to get a grasp on these tips. But I promise you, when you get a good grip on your sales meetings, you’ll be on your way to success and closing more deals.
So, we thought we’d share five ways to help you manage your sales meetings in one place:
1. Have a routine
No matter what you have on your plate at work, you want to have a routine.
Consider blocking time for specific activities and use it to your advantage. Turn your calendar into a bunch of colored blocks and put what you have on your to-do list in those blocks.
To do this, you need to determine what you will accomplish and when you will finish it. Once you decide, input it into your calendar and then get to work on it at the specific time with each day.
For example, if you are wanting to schedule multiple meetings but also need to focus on other sales tasks, prioritize and block these at certain times. Using a tool like Google Calendar can help keep you on track.
This organization tactic has the bonus of keeping you in line and up to date on when you should be accomplishing specific priorities. And time blocking can give you a specific list and time frame to complete each one.
2. Schedule time with yourself, just like meetings
Most of us have no problem using our calendars to schedule meetings with others. But we don’t think of scheduling time for doing our work.
The solution is to make appointments with yourself and block them off in your calendar. It will show that you are not available at a particular time.
You might also want to block a whole day on your calendar, where you attack your work and projects with just one meeting.
When you review your calendar for the upcoming week, take note of that “me time.” Think about what you plan to do and how you are going to get everything done, without overwhelming yourself.
It’s important not to cancel the appointment and move on to something else. Don’t set yourself up to finish some project in two hours, when you know it will take you longer to complete it! For most people, doing the opposite is exactly the right strategy: Estimate how long it will take you to complete a project. Then schedule 20 percent more time for it.
You'll often find that this extra 20 percent is much needed. And if you bring the project to completion before your scheduled time is up, all the better. Simply move onto the next task early.
Block yourself some time and work away at it. The routine will then become natural for you and it will become a regular habit.
3. Review next week’s calendar
If you want to have a more productive schedule, then start reviewing your calendar and meetings in advance.
There are probably lots of things going on with your job. Having to remember every single word in your head and what you need to do can cause anxiety and stress. And if you look at your calendar and what you have to complete in the future, there’s less of a chance you’ll forget it.
By looking ahead, you'll be better prepared for what is to come, like a meeting first thing in the morning. This can be important if you need to prepare.
4. Set reminders
It’s easy to get too focused on your work and lose track of when your next sales meeting is. Maybe you spent too much time sending cold emails or researching prospects.
You cannot afford to have this happening when you are busy with meetings and reaching sales quotas. Your work will suffer if you don’t give attention to the tasks you have to complete, and you will look bad if you forget your meetings.
This is where reminders come in.
They can remind you to do a task or meeting before it starts so you can finish your current priority and prepare for the next activity.
Whether you do it manually, or let software like Close automate reminders for you: Set a reminder for everything!
It will remind you to do a task or get ready for a meeting, and will help keep you on track.
5. Leave yourself enough time before a meeting to prepare
As sales professionals, we spend most of our time in meetings. And that can be challenging when you have a calendar packed with meetings.
A successful sales meeting happens well before the actual meeting takes place.
Consider this analogy: a football team doesn’t just show up on game day thinking they will beat their opponent. They must study video, look at player statistics, and practice their game plan — well before the day of the game.
The same thing happens with sales. You must prepare in advance.
This includes reviewing the profile of the prospect, sales history, and pain points.
Be sure to research the prospect’s company as well. Read their latest blog posts and news. Do whatever you can to prepare for the meeting.
Being prepared in advance can give you the confidence to carry forward the sales meeting and drive it to close the deal.
But keeping track of all of your sales meetings can be a pain and overwhelming.
That’s why we created MeetingSync.
Meeting Sync makes it easy to sync your Google Calendar and automatically track your meetings. Once a calendar is linked, any meetings will show on the lead’s calendar they’re booked with. (That's just one of the many ways how Close minimizes busywork for sales reps, and empowers them to close more deals in less time. Try it for yourself with our free trial!)
Bringing it all together
Have a routine to help keep you organized and to know when you have to complete tasks and meetings. Use a tool that works as a unified workspace, so you don't have to constantly switch between 6 different apps. If your team is doing inside sales, Close could be the perfect CRM for you, since it enables you to manage all your communications with prospects in one place: emails, calls, text messages and meetings.
Try blocking off a day where you do your work with just one meeting. This will save you some stress and time. You also want to look ahead to what you have scheduled, as it can be vital if you need time to prepare.
And don’t forget to use reminders! It will help you keep up-to-date on what you have scheduled.
Most of all, be well prepared for meetings. You must prepare in advance so you can feel confident in the sales meeting and move it to where you want to be.
Likewise, by having everything in Close, you can utilize Smart Views to show all your leads with meetings booked or simply add them to your sales processes. Managing your sales leads has never been this simple. To get started, start your free Close trial today.
