6 Reasons Why I’ll Continue To Take Notes During Sales Meetings

Recording the details of a sales meeting with a pen and paper divides a lot of professional salespeople. Some fear that it can be off putting and that it may even prevent the prospect from sharing information. They say that it can ruin the natural flow of the conversation and makes their questioning technique disjointed and less effective.

I remain a firm believer in the value of taking notes, here’s why:

1. Taking notes helps ensure correct selling structure – It assists you to gather enough of the right information, helping you to establish the needs before moving on to selling.
2. It allows you to immediately stand out from your competitors - Taking out a pen and paper creates the impression that I’m a professional and I’m organised.
3. It serves as a visual demonstration that you are listening – Recording the conversation sells to the prospect that you taking what they are saying seriously.
4. Note taking helps to focus the prospect’s mind on the important details – It gets them to think about and verbalise what they feel you need to know. It reinforces their desire to speak and highlights your role as the information gatherer.
5. Using a pen and paper allows you to have a questioning plan - Including a series of lead questions which can even be written down in advance helping to ensure that you cover all the important points.
6. It allows the salesperson to look for any clues that were missed – Sometimes comments by the prospect during the meeting that initially might have seemed not important, can provide insight on reflection.

Do you take notes during sales meetings? Or do you believe that it hampers your ability to build relationships with potential new customers? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.