You know that feeling of astonishment when you have a waitress taking an order for a table of ten by memory? Everyone at the table is amazed as she walks away, but there’s also a quiet concern if the order will be right.
If your dining companions are that concerned about whether the waitstaff will remember to leave the tomatoes off their salad, imagine your client’s unease when they’re sharing important details about their business issues and you’re not taking notes or clarifying the information.
Even if you are a memory master, the client doesn’t know it, nor do they care. They simply want to know that the meeting with you was worth their time and that you’re listening and will follow up correctly.
The Anxiousness at an Important Sales Meeting
I’m in the lobby of a prospective client waiting for one of my colleagues to join me for a meeting. This meeting is particularly important because the vice president of the company agreed to spend an hour with us sharing some of the challenges in her operations. It took a huge investment — including months of research, prospecting calls, and meeting other people at the organization — to create this opportunity.
In the first meeting, I convinced the operations VP that yes, my technology might be part of the solution to improving productivity, but we’d need to learn more details about their operations. She agreed to a second meeting where two of her subject-matter experts would participate.
When my colleague arrives, we shuffle into the elevator and go to our client’s office where her assistant navigates us to a six-person conference room. We’ve spent several hours via conference call preparing for the meeting. My work partner is new to the company, but he’s smart and seems to understand the meeting objectives.
As we get situated in the cramped windowless room, I turn off my phone and retrieve my list of questions, a pad of paper and a pen. My associate’s preparation has revealed an iPhone and nothing more.
A Terrible Start to a Sales Meeting
I’m always a little nervous in these early meetings because there’s no room for error or setting a wrong expectation. Right now, I’m staring at a situation that’s just waiting to blow up in all of our faces.
I ask my colleague the obvious question, “Where’s your notepad and pen?”
The facial expression I get in return is, “Dude, what’s the problem?” The actual answer I get is, “I don’t have paper or a pen.”
After a fleeting holy shit moment, I rip out several pages from my notepad, dig through my bag to find another pen and slide it all over to him.
“Turn off your phone,” I bark. A few expletives may have been used during this brief directive. Between the barking and my rabid approach, you can imagine I felt like I was headed for the doghouse.
I was ready to admit defeat as all of the hard work it took to get to this moment quickly began to dissolve in front of my eyes.
Somewhere in the early part of my career, I was instructed to put myself in the customer’s shoes and consider questions from their vantage point. For example, why would I want to meet with this sales guy, why should I trust him and how can he help me? All of these thoughts are swirling through my head as I gaze at my young colleague’s blank sheets of paper. Why had no one thought to teach him this?
The meeting starts, and we dive into the customer’s operating challenges. After the meeting, we sit down together to compare notes, add detail, and assign the follow-up work. I also share my expectations for all future meetings with my new partner.
It takes a team to bring all the skills and knowledge needed to satisfy a customer’s concerns and win their approval. Looking back at the situation, I can see where I failed as the coach of my team.
Avoiding Assumptions in Sales
I committed a cardinal sin that day, believing that my colleague would be prepared to take notes. It’s not the technical stuff that makes selling hard, it’s doing the easy stuff wrong that will blow your chance to earn the trust and confidence of your prospective clients.
People want to be heard.
They also want to know you’re listening.
One of the ways you can demonstrate that your attention is on them is through the quality of your questions. It starts with thorough research and education in the prospect’s business and should continue through your final meeting, whether it’s a win or a loss.
Taking notes when potential clients share important answers to your questions is one of the simplest ways to instill confidence during these vital conversations. If you’ve ever looked for a contractor to do work at your house, think about what likely attracted you to the person you selected: they listened intently to your needs, asked several questions, confirmed that they’re meeting your requirements and took notes.
Failed Sales Meetings Due to No Notes
Over the years, I’ve had many contractors do work at my home with an equal number of mistakes and excuses why the work missed the mark. It was my mistake moving forward with the contractor who verbally said they got it but, when they started the work, showed me they didn’t get it at all.
Now, when I’m working with contractors, if they’re not taking notes, I quickly shut down the meeting and shuttle them out the door. None of us want that scenario to ever play out in our sales engagements.
The stakes are much higher for our prospective clients when we’re engaged with them. The project or product you’re planning to sell, if it fails, could cost these folks their jobs.
Listening is the foundation of effective selling and taking notes ensures you’ll remember what’s important to your client. It’s one of the many small things that will help you earn the customers confidence and trust in you.
Whether it’s your first client meeting or the tenth, following a few simple principles will improve the flow of your meetings and allow you to capture the important client information.
Tips for Taking Notes in Meetings:
- Turn off your phone, tablet or laptop
- Pause your client during the conversation to ensure you understand and have time to note the information
- Write just a few words to remind yourself of the issue
- Review your notes and action items with your client
- Schedule the next meeting with the client before you leave
- Finish your notes immediately after the meeting while the information is fresh in your mind
- Send a follow-up note to the client. Clearly and succinctly describe what you heard them say, the action items and the expectations.
Taking Notes in Executive Meetings
I used to worry about taking notes when I was speaking with senior executives. Heck, it felt like I’d won the lottery just to get the meeting, even though I only got 30 minutes to run through two hours of critical questions. I used to think that if I was taking notes, I was wasting their time. It’s just the opposite for all the reasons described above, regardless of the rank of the client.
If you need a moment to jot down a note, simply pause the conversation. For example, you might state, “Jim, it’s important for me to capture your concern (or this information) correctly.” Then take the note and consider repeating what you’ve heard.
You’re the one who landed this critical meeting, so treat yourself as a peer of the executive. Yes, their time is important and so is yours. Take the time to get the information they’re sharing with you right. Get further clarification if needed.
Doing the Simple Stuff to Make a Sale
As salespeople, we’re always striving to earn the client’s trust. The better we execute on the fundamental stuff, the higher the confidence level our client will have when we encounter a tough situation. Every interaction we have with the client is an opportunity to prove that we’re different and we understand what’s important to them. Taking notes while you’re in a meeting isn’t just smart — it’s an unspoken way to tell your customer that you’re really ready to hear their needs and find the solutions that are best for their company.
