Recovering from a Bad Sales Meeting

17 replies
How do you turn a poor or moderate meeting around after the fact? I'm sure that even the best sales people have had meetings that could have gone better.

I had a meeting tonight that didn't go as well as I wanted.

The meeting was with a restaurant. They asked me to come talk to the manager at 6pm on a Thursday.

The place was crowded and the loud music completely distracted me. The manager seemed too busy to talk but we continued with the meeting. I drove about an hour to get there so I didn't want to turn around without talking to him.

It didn't go terrible. But it could have went a lot better.. I left the meeting realizing that I need to prevent situations like this in the future or ask the manager to talk to me at a better time. So at least I learned something. But looking forward, the only thing that I can try to do is move forward and close them.

So when you have an average or poor meeting with a prospect that can still be closed then how do you bounce back? Just continue following up as normal?

I plan to follow-up soon with more information to help generate some more open dialogue. That's the only thing that I can think of at the moment.
#bad #meeting #recovering #sales
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
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    The restaurant manager wanted a meeting at 6 PM? That guy obviously isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

    Usually a restaurant manager will only have meetings during slow times of the day (common sense), something like 2:30 PM when most customers are at work.

    Personally I would avoid people like that because If they're that clueless imagine how they'll be later on when your working with them on a project.
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    • Profile picture of the author socialedu
      I thought it was an odd time too. They have a few managers and they set the meeting up with him because he usually deals with that area of the business. The place is fairly large and he seems experienced. Maybe he met with me at that time for a reason. He seemed pretty sharp.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
        You received a valid answer from Yukon.

        I can tell from your response that you're
        resisting the advice. That's alright, you'll
        learn the hard way.

        It's poor manners though, to ask for advice and
        then disregard it. The least you can do is to thank
        him.
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        • Profile picture of the author socialedu
          Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

          You received a valid answer from Yukon.

          I can tell from your response that you're
          resisting the advice. That's alright, you'll
          learn the hard way.

          It's poor manners though, to ask for advice and
          then disregard it. The least you can do is to thank
          him.
          Resisting advice? Not really. I agreed with him to a point. I thought that the meeting was set at a weird time.

          And how can you say that it's good advice to not work with the people based on the extremely limited information that I provided? Are you even in sales?

          It's poor manners though, to ask for advice and
          then disregard it.
          Yep..just like it's poor manners to troll a thread and offer nothing of value.
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  • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
    Originally Posted by socialedu View Post

    The place was crowded and the loud music completely distracted me. The manager seemed too busy to talk but we continued with the meeting. I drove about an hour to get there so I didn't want to turn around without talking to him.
    Not sure but he seemed to be in control of the meeting, Maybe turning the tables is what was needed, in that saying it straight, "this seems not to be a good time, call me when you have less distractions" and walked out.
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    • Profile picture of the author socialedu
      Originally Posted by tryinhere View Post

      Not sure but he seemed to be in control of the meeting, Maybe turning the tables is what was needed, in that saying it straight, "this seems not to be a good time, call me when you have less distractions" and walked out.
      Thanks, that's what I was thinking. He def controlled the entire meeting.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    I think raise your level of respect for the value of your time. And show that to them.

    If you are providing a website, are they more interested in a cool site or ROI?
    (Your scenario is reminding me of a past client who constantly wasted my time
    waiting for them - even with a set appointment time.)

    Who is the decision maker?

    Where is the owner in this process?

    PS - I'm not there, but because they remind me of a past bar client,
    I too am not sure you want them.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialedu
    I think raise your level of respect for the value of your time. And show that to them.

    If you are providing a website, are they more interested in a cool site or ROI?
    (Your scenario is reminding me of a past client.)

    Who is the decision maker?

    Where is the owner in this process?
    Great advice about respecting time. Thank you.

    I asked the manger what the decision making process looks like. He told me that he makes the decision with consent of the owner and to follow up again in a week because they have to look at pricing and 'do research'. That basically tells me that the owner makes the decision. I could probably go straight to the owner since there does seem to be interest in my product.
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    • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
      Originally Posted by socialedu View Post

      Great advice about respecting time. Thank you.

      I asked the manger what the decision making process looks like. He told me that he makes the decision with consent of the owner and to follow up again in a week because they have to look at pricing and 'do research'. That basically tells me that the owner makes the decision. I could probably go straight to the owner since there does seem to be interest in my product.
      I think you want to insist on meeting with the owner to establish what your service will do business wise and personal wise for the owner.

      Possibly for the manager as well, but he may just be an employee who does not care as much as the owner. To the manager, you could be just another vendor and he's just getting three bids and presenting the middle price - or whatever subjective criteria he is using.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
    Originally Posted by socialedu View Post

    How do you turn a poor or moderate meeting around after the fact? I'm sure that even the best sales people have had meetings that could have gone better.

    I had a meeting tonight that didn't go as well as I wanted.

    The meeting was with a restaurant. They asked me to come talk to the manager at 6pm on a Thursday.

    The place was crowded and the loud music completely distracted me. The manager seemed too busy to talk but we continued with the meeting. I drove about an hour to get there so I didn't want to turn around without talking to him.

    It didn't go terrible. But it could have went a lot better.. I left the meeting realizing that I need to prevent situations like this in the future or ask the manager to talk to me at a better time. So at least I learned something. But looking forward, the only thing that I can try to do is move forward and close them.

    So when you have an average or poor meeting with a prospect that can still be closed then how do you bounce back? Just continue following up as normal?

    I plan to follow-up soon with more information to help generate some more open dialogue. That's the only thing that I can think of at the moment.
    It helps to define the expectations of the meeting first, otherwise they will define it by default. What I mean is that you should ask them, when you arrive, if there would be any chance of the meeting being interrupted, that it will take around sixty minutes of their time and you'd like to ask them some questions. You set up the expectations first so there's no mutual mystification on what's going to happen next. When prospects behave as you've described, I don't interpret it as them being stupid or rude, they simply are operating on their own baseline of expectations, because you haven't made an agreement beforehand to circumvent that. Its no one person's fault, just a small error of miscommunication.

    It's better to set these expectations on the phone before you arrive, so you can reschedule at a better time if the only spot he's free this week is during rush our.. which I agree is foolish. I don't mean to jump to conclusions, but it could mean he isn't taking the meeting that seriously.. the problem is somewhere earlier in the process, before you jump in your car to meet him.
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    • Profile picture of the author socialedu
      It helps to define the expectations of the meeting first, otherwise they will define it by default. What I mean is that you should ask them, when you arrive, if there would be any chance of the meeting being interrupted, that it will take around sixty minutes of their time and you'd like to ask them some questions. You set up the expectations first so there's no mutual mystification on what's going to happen next. When prospects behave as you've described, I don't interpret it as them being stupid or rude, they simply are operating on their own baseline of expectations, because you haven't made an agreement beforehand to circumvent that. Its no one person's fault, just a small error of miscommunication.
      That makes perfect sense, thank you. I'm learning a lot already.

      I don't mean to jump to conclusions, but it could mean he isn't taking the meeting that seriously.. the problem is somewhere earlier in the process, before you jump in your car to meet him.
      You are 100% right on that. I met with a client yesterday who was the complete opposite. She showed up with a pad of paper during the afternoon when we both had the time and I closed her for thousands right there. This guy was nice but not as serious about the meeting, which I picked up on right away.

      So at this point I have realized that I did a few things wrong:

      1. Lost control of the meeting by not setting expectations or taking control back
      2. Devalued my time
      3. Agreed to meet at such a bad time to begin with....I should have faced the facts that they were not taking the meeting as serious as they should have been and that was my fault in the first place.
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      • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
        Originally Posted by socialedu View Post

        So at this point I have realized that I did a few things wrong:

        1. Lost control of the meeting by not setting expectations or taking control back
        2. Devalued my time
        3. Agreed to meet at such a bad time to begin with....I should have faced the facts that they were not taking the meeting as serious as they should have been and that was my fault in the first place.
        I would say the most important thing you could have forgot is to qualify them. Are they experiencing a real problem, are they in pain? How do you know it's a problem?.. what impact is that having and what's the cost of not solving that? Do they have the money to buy what you sell? Is the person you are seeing qualified to purchase on the same day? What is their decision making process, how do they make a decision once you've presented.. where does the money come from?

        You need to ask these questions beforehand.. so they take the meeting seriously.. so you know you can walk out with an order, or politely nice them away when you're on the phone with them, If you get positive answers to the questions above.. you will simply not run into this type of prospect anymore.. and people will see you that respect yourself and will be afraid to fu ck with you.

        I think in general, most problems you see in sales with objections, people not having money, people being defensive or disappearing.. are symptoms of a problem that had been enabled long before you get to that obstacle. It's better to know everything in advanced.. to plan for every possible contingency.. and as much as possible avoid the parts of the sale which are hard.. no matter how good you are, it's infinitely better to simply not hear objections than coming up with the perfect answer, so it doesn't really help that much to be a 'Good talker', it's an overvalued asset..

        Despite what people will tell you, it's more than just making a hundred calls a day.. there are many, many landmines on the path you are walking, but you'll still manage to make sales.. largely by accident. Some just want to buy and you're there so they give you a cheque.. but you'll be burning many opportunities which could have been capitalized.. and I'm not talking about being able to talk people into something or convince them, what I mean is you will talk your way out of the sale; say the wrong thing, act nervous or hesitate, appear needy.. all on a SUBTLE level that is picked up unconsciously by others.

        What most fail to realize is that you need to know what you are doing! I would keep reading, keep attending meetings and sustaining your momentum until it becomes easier, but treat it as both a science and an art form instead of some kind of indiscriminate numbers game. That's a terrible attitude which gets thrown around by some people here. Of course working hard and producing the numbers is vital to doing.. anything worthwhile. That's common sense, but to say 'It's just a numbers game', is overly simplistic, because it's not like playing Bingo or roulette.. there are complicated mechanics at play, elements you are largely in control of or can influence. Saying it's just a numbers game is being at the mercy of fate and other people, it's a victim mentality, but it's an easy belief to accept, because if it's 'Just a numbers game', then how could it possibly be your fault that something went wrong?
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        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          I am going to be that guy here and disagree with most here. #1 the manager did not control the meeting... you simply failed to. #2 You found the atmosphere to be distracting and confusing... THAT is normal for the gentleman you were talking to. THAT is his reality. IF there was a failure here it was not being able to meet him eye to eye and see the business as it is through his eyes. Kinda how can you even begin to fix it, if being there is overwhelming and confusing?

          Regardless of all the great comments here.. pre qualifying valuing your time etc. You still had the choice.. you were handed a basket of lemons, and you walked away with a sour puss face.

          I am going to bet you have a semi scripted routine you run through. A series of questions and a process of breaking down what you do and how it can work for them. In a situation like that.. you need to be able to throw the process and routine out the window and roll with what's there.

          Wow its pretty busy in here tonight. Is it like this every night? oh its not.. what is your busiest evening and worst one? You serve lunch right? how is that? what would you say the busiest day for lunch is? Lot of families in here is that normal?

          You start asking questions that give you some insight to any strengths and weakness'

          Have you guys been trying to fill in the gaps on your slow evenings? what have you tried? did that work at all? - just engage the crap out of the guy with questions and questions and questions.

          What you end up with is a base to construct a plan... It was really great meeting up with you. I need a day or 2 to lay out all of this information and get an idea of what we can do for you. Are you available on say Monday noon time?

          All of this can be done in small chunks. I am sure more than once he said "Please excuse me I need to do .... Ill be right back"

          Now when you walk in the second time with a more constructive environment something magical happens... that non direct non targeted presentation you usually deliver is tailored to them directly.. you have the numbers.. you have the facts. YOU took the time to understand their business, their pains, and now you can deliver solutions.
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

            I am going to be that guy here and disagree with most here. #1 the manager did not control the meeting... you simply failed to. #2 You found the atmosphere to be distracting and confusing... THAT is normal for the gentleman you were talking to. THAT is his reality. IF there was a failure here it was not being able to meet him eye to eye and see the business as it is through his eyes. Kinda how can you even begin to fix it, if being there is overwhelming and confusing?
            Yup, to all the above.

            To Socialedu; This actually sounds like a regular meeting. If you meet someone at their place of business, their business s their first priority. There are always going to be distractions. Just keep cool, and when his attention comes back to you, ask a question to get him refocused.

            The single most important question is, what did you learn from this meeting? Always assume full responsibility for everything that happens. It's the only way to improve. If you blame the prospect, you can't improve your selling...because you aren't the prospect. But you can improve everything you do.

            If you are going to go after restaurant owners, what did this meeting teach you? Maybe ask for a different time. And if they have an office you can go to. Maybe even ask if you can go to a quieter location.

            Yeah, someone is always leading the conversation...and if you aren't doing it, the default setting is that the prospect will assume control.

            About the distractions? One part of a sales presentation...is dealing with the distractions. These are opportunities to show empathy, understanding, camaraderie, and a little authority.

            Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

            Have you guys been trying to fill in the gaps on your slow evenings? what have you tried? did that work at all? - just engage the crap out of the guy with questions and questions and questions.

            What you end up with is a base to construct a plan... It was really great meeting up with you. I need a day or 2 to lay out all of this information and get an idea of what we can do for you. Are you available on say Monday noon time?

            All of this can be done in small chunks. I am sure more than once he said "Please excuse me I need to do .... Ill be right back"

            Now when you walk in the second time with a more constructive environment something magical happens... that non direct non targeted presentation you usually deliver is tailored to them directly.. you have the numbers.. you have the facts. YOU took the time to understand their business, their pains, and now you can deliver solutions.
            And....that's selling, folks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
    It's hard to "keep control".....I would try to discourage a Saturday meeting at a salon for instance, or a mealtime meeting at a restaurant.....you can say something like "Sure I look forward to meeting with you, but I hope you can give me (1/2 hr? whatever) of your time, cause I am excited to show you this (whatever ..whatever,) on my laptop, so I hope we can (whatever - have a place to talk, hookup to wifi whatever)....

    I do agree with Savidge that you have to try to "keep cool"and not be distracted yourself...
    you could give a compliment "wow great crowd, place is nice/jumping, everyone seems to love it (whatever)...and then ask questions...
    what is your slow/busiest night?
    Assume the sale "Well once you (buy whatever, do whatever, get the website, take out the ad) we will have your great place this busy all the time, Mondays, tues, off season etc) haha...(assume the sale)


    ....and then slide in...."I hope you had a time to take this all in Joe, if you like I'd be really happy to come back and sit down with you and the owner and go over any questions , maybe you can set aside a (1/2 hr?) during your "quiet time" here?

    Rather than trying to "control" the meeting totally I try to "control" what I do and my reactions and go with the flow sometimes....sometimes that is all you can do.

    I was selling ad space in local mag to a plumber, he has a sloppy sort of office /warehouse , very casual....his (spoiled) daughter works there ....or hardly works there LOL>> she eats,plays on the computer, watches tv and talks on phone it seems..

    I liked to get him alone cause she was a damper ....one time she walked in and he was about to take a full page on a 6 mo contract and she came in and didn't like that ....and plunked herself down and put her feet on the desk right by me and began to paint her toenails LOL

    I kept cool and he seemed so disgusted with his own kid that he told her to get her feet out of my face but I kept cool "oh it's ok"... and played with her ever present little maltese dog....he ended up taking the full page ad

    My favorite story - when I visited a large warehouse office...and the owner had ...4 monkeys in huge cages and play pens....a little wading pool outside for them and little "playground">>>

    One little monkey took a liking to me so she sat on my lap , with her diaper on, chattering working away on my laptop while I got her daddy to sign a contract

    sometimes u have to go with the flow
    sometimes you have to create the flow or divert the flow
    and sometimes you have to hold the monkey I guess
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    • Profile picture of the author socialedu
      Thanks everyone. I don't have the time to respond to each post at the moment but you have all provided me a lot of great perspective and some great things to think about/do for the next time that I'm in a situation like this.

      I try to look at each sales meeting as a learning experience to improve myself so I'll actually know what I"m saying when I start hiring sales people to work for me.

      So thanks again for all of the great feedback.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    >>They asked me to come talk to the manager at 6pm on a Thursday.<<

    Gee, what I got out of it was they deliberately booked you in at the busy time so they'd have an excuse to be distracted.

    >>I asked the manger what the decision making process looks like. He told me that he makes the decision with consent of the owner and to follow up again in a week because they have to look at pricing and 'do research'. That basically tells me that the owner makes the decision.<<

    And this basically tells me the excuse will be, "we did our research, thank you and we'll call you if we need you." And picking your brains?That was the research.

    Maybe I'm just cynical.
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