Get Your National Sales Meeting Messages to Stick

Now that the first quarter has come and gone, most of our members have wrapped up this year’s national sales meeting and are beginning to look ahead to next year’s events. Before the planning for next year’s meetings progresses too far, though, we thought we would share some of the lessons we’ve learned in our conversations with members about national sales meetings; specifically, how they select and integrate relevant themes into their national sales meetings to get messages to stick.

Choosing a theme: Among the members we spoke with, the sales organization’s top strategic priorities are a popular source of inspiration when selecting a theme. By picking a theme that fits with larger strategic priorities, national sales meetings can help to communicate and reinforce an important message for the sales organization, according to one member.
Communicating the theme: Most members we spoke with reveal the meeting theme to sales reps prior to the event. At the meeting, companies use visual elements to remind attendees of the theme and create a brand around it. Three of the member companies we spoke with design logos and color schemes to better deliver the theme at their national sales meetings.
Reinforcing the theme: Several of the members we spoke with strive to continue using the theme from their national sales meeting throughout the year. One executive went as far to describe the theme from the national sales meeting as the sales organization’s theme for the entire year. Other member companies continue to use the theme’s logo and language in communications with the sales force, in order to quickly reference the key takeaways and learnings from the national sales meeting.

CEB Sales members, review our latest brief on Selecting Themes for National Sales Meetings to learn more about companies’ processes for selecting and incorporating themes into their national sales meetings. Also, read our blog post on The Do’s and Don’ts of National Sales Meetings.