I joined a Teams call two weeks ago on which I was the customer – which is odd for me since I’m usually on the selling side of these types of calls. Since I was running from one call to the next, I blindly clicked the link and realized that I had no idea what the call was about. I knew who was hosting it and that it was in follow-up to a call a few weeks prior, but I knew nothing else. That’s when I scratched down the idea of writing this blog post.
Sending an agenda before all your sales calls is not a novel concept. However, it’s one of those practices that is neglected because we don’t understand the impact it has on our success. Below I have shared four benefits to sending an agenda ahead of time.
Before sharing the benefits of sending an agenda, it’s worth noting that this post isn’t only about the huge conference room one-in-a-lifetime pitches that will change your career, but about every scheduled call or meeting that you have. Agendas can be everything from a full-day schedule printed on an impressive stock of paper down to a one-liner in an email stating the objective of a catch-up call.
Benefits of sending an agenda
- An agenda will differentiate you from other salespeople. In our speed-of-light world of professional selling, hardly anyone takes the time to send an agenda. This one practice will differentiate you.
- The analytical people will love you for it. Most of the skeptics of technology are analytical people, and they’re also the same people that hate being surprised and not being prepared. If you send an agenda ahead of time, then you’ll get the skeptical people on your side before you arrive!
- Sending an agenda confirms the appointment. In the example above, the other group was about four minutes late. I had no idea if they were going to show or not. If they had sent an agenda, I would’ve known that they were simply running a little late. Also, it helps you know if your customer is going to attend before finding out at the last minute.
- I think the most impact an agenda has is that it prepares the audience for the sales call / meeting. In my example above, I wasn’t prepared, and our call was a waste of time. Agendas will cut the time of a typical selling process by 20% - 30% because the audience will be prepared, and your meetings will be more productive. You’ll be able to accomplish in three meetings that same that you used to do in four meetings.
Try it. Don’t make it hard. For 95% of your sales calls, an agenda can be a couple bullet points in an email. Your customers will love you for it, and your numbers will magically rise!
