4 Types of Sales Meetings I Genuinely Hate & Will Find All Ways to Escape

Speaking from the perspective of a salesperson

Yeah, I know this sounds incredible.

But yes. There are sales meetings that sales professionals hate to attend.

It is true. We don’t get to control our calendars. It takes on a life of its own.

And staring at the itinerary of the day can demotivate me. Let me explain.

It kills my spirit when I must attend meetings that,

• Yields no fruit,
• Proven to be a circus in the making,
• No agenda, no progress motive, no alignment,
• Have people who cannot stop talking,
• With a $0 budget set aside.

You would go gag, too.

I never understood why people find it socially acceptable to waste a sales professional’s time. If you know — Please share it with me.

1. The Meeting with Folks Screaming I-Am-Here-To-Find-Out

I call this the pre-prospecting meeting.

But this is not a meeting initiated from my end.

It is a meeting initiated by the person on the other side of the fence. It is normal. You want to know what you are buying, right?

Right.

Except.

These pieces of information have already been made known on the company website. Basic product information. Basic pricing information. Basic show-and-tell in content videos.

These people would happily hit that book an appointment button to ask whether we have this product in blue (yes, it is on the website), how much (the website says $12), and how it works (watch the video, will you?).

Oh geez.

Such meetings yield no fruit. They would speak to me about the puffy white clouds hanging on the bright blue sky (of course, salespeople are trained to be courteous) and then move on with life.

These days, I ask.

“Thank you for having this call with me. Can you tell me the list of questions you have?”

I would listen and then decide if I want to stay on.

• I will reply via email if they are asking for information already published on the website (a way to collect their email addresses for future marketing campaigns).
• If they are on call to find out what is not present on the website or our social media channel — I will stay on and respect their time.

Yup.

I endeavor not to waste your time.

And I hope that sentiment is mutual.

2. The Meeting with More Than 3 Talkative Senior Executives

Oh. My. Goodness.

These soul sappers!

They talk non-stop. These senior executives would go from macroeconomics to banking sector crisis to organization strategy to talent pool retention.

One thing would lead to the other.

I used to believe that clients speaking freely in my presence showed sales potential. It might lead to a deal. Wrong.

• A conversation going nowhere gets us nowhere.
• The sales effort going nowhere brings us nowhere.

These days, I get paranoid when I receive a meeting invitation without any defined agenda.

I will ask for an agenda.

If there are no replies — I decline the meeting.

3. The Meetings with Value Hunters

Marketers focus on value.

Sales professionals focus on price.

Why price (and not value), you may ask. Simple.

We cannot transact on value. Price is the mechanism that allows goods and services to be exchanged for cash or credit.

I will walk away when I hear feedback or objections primarily driven by empty value speak. Amicably.

Because I know there is no end to value-speak.

4. The Meetings with Clients Who Love to “Take a Step Back”

I’m sorry. No.

What do you mean by taking a step back?

This is Morse Code for wasting more time before getting down to business.

Imagine this.

• You spent 3 months working on this deal.
• You worked out a package that fits their budget.
• You have spoken to and aligned with all decision-makers.
• Your team is assembled and is ready to start work.
• Your boss has given you his (or her) blessings.

And then… out jumps someone who screams the following.

“Let us take a step back and rethink the project details.”

Say what?

We have already dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. Why are we taking one or two steps back?

It unwinds weeks and months of effort.

I would respectfully ask why when we are near the closing stages of the deal.

Sometimes, I get good answers.

“There are 3 clauses that compliance needs to go through again. No big issues. We will come back once we are good.”

Okay, no problem.

Sometimes, I get ridiculous replies.

“I want to speak to my team to confirm the need to spend time and money and whether they know what they really want.”

Okay, big problem.

I’m prepared to exit the meeting room before getting invited out.

The Close

Many folks I know hate to attend sales meetings.

Trust me. I know that feeling too well.

I get sold from time to time.

Truth be told, salespeople do hate sales meetings. Not all. Some.

Especially those meetings where we must deal with,

• Folks screaming I-Am-Here-To-Find-Out loudly,
• More than 3 talkative senior executives,
• Value hunters,
• Clients who love to “Take a Step Back”.

Are you in sales?

What kind of meetings do you loathe?

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