Taking notes in a sales meeting
When we're taking notes during interaction with a customer or partner, mostly what's being written is downright useless. As a result, notes are rarely used for future reference or stored for long. What does it take to make notes from a sales meeting serve their purpose, and what is that purpose anyway?
The purpose of taking notes can be summarized by asking three key questions. How can we apply notes taking to:
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BE EFFECTIVE
...make sure we both listen (live in the present) and write (store for the future)?
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IDENTIFY WIN-WIN
...stay focused by gleaning out and visualizing the purpose of the information exchange?
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CENTER AROUND ACTIONS
...make sure the interaction results in execution around shared objectives?
Taking notes must remain simple and easy for it to have the power to influence. Here's what you do: Draw a big cross in the center of your page. That leaves you with four basic fields of information - key words only.
Ask yourself: What's the ideal information you put into a CRM system following a sales call? Simply put, it's the information you're left with on your paper with this structure.
If you stick to doing it this way - always - 80% of your purpose has been achieved. The remaining 20% becomes your header and footer. On top you add the date and individuals you spoke with, including data you believe is critical to otherwise remember. Down below you specify every action point you agree on, including a deadline for each one.
Why taking notes this ways works I'll leave for my next blog post to elaborate on ;-)
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