Customers and sales
Template: minutes from a sales meeting
Two templates in one: the internal sales meeting with pipeline and forecast, and the sales meeting with the customer where needs, objections and the decision path have to be captured.
Sales meeting with the customer
MINUTES: SALES MEETING WITH [customer]
[date], [__.__]–[__.__] | [place or meeting format]
PRESENT
From [customer]: [Name], [role]
From us: [Name], [role]
THE NEED, IN THE CUSTOMER'S WORDS
[What the customer actually described as the problem, not our
interpretation of it.]
TODAY'S SOLUTION
[What they do today, and what is wrong with it.]
OBJECTIONS
- [Objection]: [our answer, and whether the customer seemed convinced]
DECISION PATH
Contact: [name], [role]
Decision maker: [name], [role]
Others who must say yes: [name, function]
Process: [tender / direct purchase / internal approval]
BUDGET AND TIMELINE
Frame: [amount, or "not stated"]
Timing: [when they want something in place]
AGREED
1. [What we send, and when]
2. [What the customer does, and when]
ASSESSMENT (INTERNAL, NOT SENT TO THE CUSTOMER)
Probability: [%] Next step: [...] Risk: [...]
Minutes taken by: [name]Internal sales meeting
MINUTES: SALES MEETING [team], week [__]
[date], [__.__]–[__.__]
PRESENT
[Name, name, name]
CHANGES IN THE PIPELINE
- [Customer]: [moved from X to Y], because [...]
- [Customer]: [lost/won], because [...]
FORECAST
This month: [amount] ([previous estimate])
Next month: [amount]
MATTERS THAT ARE STUCK
- [Customer]: [what is blocking]. [Name] helps with [what], by [date].
DECISIONS
1. [...]
TASKS
- [ ] [Name]: [task] — due [date]
NEXT MEETING
[date]How to use them
- Write the objections word for word. They are the most valuable information from a sales meeting, and the part most often not written down. The next conversation starts there.
- Keep the internal assessment separate. That part must never be able to end up in a forwarded email by accident. That is why it sits at the bottom, clearly marked.
- Map the decision path early. The person you talk to is rarely the one who signs. Matters most often stall because some third party was never asked.
- In the internal meeting: changes only. A full run-through of the whole pipeline every week is time spent without return.
See also
The client meeting template for meetings that are not about sales.
Frequently asked questions
The need in the customer's own words, the objections, who actually decides, the budget frame if it came up, and the timeline. The objections are the part most often not written down, and the part worth most next time.
Because the person you are talking to is rarely the one who signs. Without a note about who has to say yes, and in what order, matters stall without anyone understanding why.
Briefly. Changes in the pipeline, matters that are stuck and need help, and what is being done about them. A full run-through of every case each week is time spent without return.