Taking your team off the road has a definite cost in terms of time that could be spent out selling, and also the direct cost of travel and accommodation.
Whenever you do a team meeting, you should make sure that what you do is more valuable than the cost!
Another trick I like to do is have a quick 10 minute presentation by each person on a topic that will be interesting to the rest of the team. Even if you have a single product, there are different aspects each person could cover like new ways of presenting it, ways of networking with your target market, ways of working with the sales team. Make sure each person can bring something new to the team.
Finally make your team meetings fun. You spend so much time in the job being serious - being with your team you can afford to learn something while enjoying yourself. This will make for closer ties in the team for the future.
Whenever you do a team meeting, you should make sure that what you do is more valuable than the cost!
- Have a clear agenda and purpose
Don't spend time unless there is a clear outcome that will be beneficial. Ensure everyone knows what they are going to achieve by coming - and this should make them more enthusiastic about participation.
- Limit the scope of the meeting to an achievable goal
Keep the scope achievable and you will make the goals. Just like a sales meeting, if you cram in too much, you loose track of the important things. Keep unnecessary agenda items for future sessions or for your regular calls or emails.
- Ensure everyone learns something new
Even old dogs can learn new tricks. If everyone learns something it reinforces the value of teamwork and being part of something bigger than the individual effort.
- Be open and transparent
If there is a problem, make sure everyone knows about it. Only through clarity and clearing the air will people look for solutions. Lack of clarity breeds paranoia and destroys teamwork.
- Keep everyone active
By rotating the leadership of the meeting, or other roles like taking minutes, booking trainers and organizing part of the session, each person will be able on focusing on making their part better and improve the quality of the session. Also even brand new team members have come from somewhere else - get them to present about who they are and their background.
Another trick I like to do is have a quick 10 minute presentation by each person on a topic that will be interesting to the rest of the team. Even if you have a single product, there are different aspects each person could cover like new ways of presenting it, ways of networking with your target market, ways of working with the sales team. Make sure each person can bring something new to the team.
Finally make your team meetings fun. You spend so much time in the job being serious - being with your team you can afford to learn something while enjoying yourself. This will make for closer ties in the team for the future.