How to Effectively Take Notes During a Sales Meeting

EP Huddle #32

Selling a product or service is all about matching up a customer's needs with the solution that you can provide. Bad salespeople try to cram features and benefits of a product down a prospect's throat, while the best sellers are able to effectively find ways to see the pain a customer is experiencing, and provide a solution to the problem.

Taking notes are an important part of the selling process. The goal is to capture key comments, ideas and concerns in a way that allows you to use this information later while you're crafting a proposal or trying to close a deal. Here are proven ideas to increase the effectiveness of your note taking, and ways to increase the likelihood that you're able to help prospects solve problems.

• Prepare before a meeting so that you're clear about your goals, what information you need to gather and what concerns a prospect might have about buying from you. This preparation should then guide your discussion.
• When in-person, always tell your prospect that you're going to take notes to record some of the important things of the conversation. Nobody will say that it's not OK.
• When you're recording notes, try to keep it brief, and only record the important facts.
• Make sure to capture exact phrases for important statements. Use these statements later when you're showing the person how your solution can help. Say things like, "as you said..." or "this product will help your problem of..."
• Write down common words the prospect uses. This vocabulary is now your vocabulary with this person. If you're not clear what the meaning is, then make sure to ask.
• Create an outline for what information your sales process typically requires. Acronyms are helpful. Here are a few examples: 
  • As a college recruiter, I wanted to learn several key factors from my prospective student. I used the acronym AMOPS, which stood for "admissibility into the program", "motivation for attending school", "obstacles for attending school", "payment strategy" (savings, financial aid, scholarships, etc.), and "support system". These five key buckets would help me keep my notes in order, and my conversion rate increased significantly because I asked better questions during the meeting.
  • Many sales departments use the old acronym, BANT. This stands for "Budget", "Authority", "Need", and "Timeline". It's a good outline to use when trying to qualify an opportunity and make sure you're spending your time with likely buyers.
  • Sales leader and author Trish Bertuzzi has suggested another acronym called PACT, which tends to blend the two aforementioned outlines. PACT stands for "Pain", "Authority", "Consequence", and "Target Profile". 
• Make sure your notes are succinct, organized, and complete. When you're finished with the meeting, get the notes into your CRM system immediately. If you've conducted a phone meeting, then take notes while you're talking (I prefer to still take notes on paper and then transcribe into my CRM, as the typing can be distracting).

As a team:

• What important information must you gather during a phone or face-to-face meeting?
• What are some key things most of your prospects say or share?
• How can this information help you sell more?
• What outline makes sense for your business, and how can you prepare yourself before the meeting to ensure you are able to ask better questions and record more pertinent information?

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