Supporting Meet Cambridge Members with Sales Training and Process Development

Meet Cambridge, the official conference and events bureau for Cambridge, wanted to provide its members with structured, practical sales training to help them maximise their revenue and conversion rates. Many of their member venues operate with small sales teams, often with just one person responsible for handling enquiries and securing bookings. This made it essential to offer a solution that not only developed their sales skills but also created a forum for networking and knowledge sharing.

In addition to training, Meet Cambridge sought Selling Savvy’s expertise in assessing the effectiveness of its reactive sales process. The organisation was using an online portal for handling enquiries but felt that conversion rates were lower than expected. To gain clarity on potential areas for improvement, Selling Savvy conducted a mystery shopping project across 13 venues, analysing how enquiries were being managed and providing strategic recommendations for optimising the process.

Selling Savvy worked closely with Meet Cambridge to provide a two-part solution:

1. Ongoing In-Person Sales Training Workshops
2. Mystery Shopping and Reactive Sales Process Analysis

Regular In-Person Sales Training:

To ensure continuous upskilling, Selling Savvy designed a series of in-person workshops held in Cambridge every four to six months. These half-day sessions were structured to be engaging, interactive, and easy to attend without disrupting daily operations. Since many sales teams in Meet Cambridge’s network are small, the shorter session format meant participants could balance training with their workload.
Each workshop focused on a specific topic, tailored to the needs of the attendees. Selling Savvy regularly gathered feedback through questionnaires to ensure the training remained relevant and impactful. Topics covered included:

• The 7 Steps to Consultative Selling - Helping sales teams transition from order-taking to a consultative approach.
• Re-Imagining Showrounds - Enhancing how venues present themselves during site visits.
• Yield and Diary Management - Maximising revenue by effectively managing availability and pricing.
  

Beyond skill development, these sessions provided a valuable opportunity for sales professionals to meet their counterparts in other Cambridge venues. Attendees could discuss local market trends, share best practices, and gain insights into how different venues were handling similar challenges. This element of networking helped to encourage collaboration within the local events industry.

Mystery Shopping & Sales Process Analysis:

In 2022, Meet Cambridge requested Selling Savvy’s support in assessing whether its reactive sales process was achieving the best possible conversion rates. The organisation wanted to ensure that sales teams were handling enquiries in a way that maximised opportunities.
To achieve this, Selling Savvy conducted a mystery shopping exercise across 13 venues within the Meet Cambridge network. This involved submitting realistic enquiries to assess how sales teams responded, how well they engaged with potential clients, and whether their approach was optimised for conversion.
The findings were then compiled and presented to both Meet Cambridge and its members in a formal Presentation of Findings. This session provided:

• A breakdown of how enquiries were currently being handled across the network.
• Key strengths and areas for improvement, offering a transparent view of sales effectiveness.
• Quick wins and strategic recommendations to improve enquiry handling and boost conversion rates.
  

Following this analysis, Selling Savvy supported Meet Cambridge in re-writing its reactive sales processes to help member venues improve their success rate. The insights afterwrds provided a strong foundation for optimising enquiry management.

Selling Savvy has helped Meet Cambridge enhance its training offering and sales processes, delivering measurable benefits to its members.

Enhanced Sales Skills & Confidence
Regular workshops have given sales professionals the tools to engage clients more effectively, understand their needs, and improve conversion rates. The practical nature of the sessions means that attendees leave with actionable skills that can be applied immediately in their roles.

Greater Collaboration & Industry Insights
By bringing together sales teams from different venues, the training has developed a stronger sense of community within the Cambridge events industry. Participants now have a network of peers to discuss trends, challenges, and best practices, creating a more collaborative approach to sales.

Improved Reactive Sales Process
The mystery shopping project provided critical insights into how enquiries were being managed. By identifying inefficiencies and offering clear recommendations, Selling Savvy helped Meet Cambridge and its members refine their approach, ensuring potential clients received a more effective and engaging sales experience.

Accessible & Practical Training
With the training being held locally and structured as half-day sessions, even the smallest teams could participate. The flexibility of the programme, allowing businesses to choose workshops relevant to their needs, ensured that training was as effective as possible.

We were proud to read that 100% of attendees from Meet Cambridge rated the training as good/very good, and positive comments included ‘I found it very interesting and took a lot away that I will incorporate into my day to day’, and ‘I thought it was great. Really informative and the slides and activities were very useful’.

'Overall, I thought the training was very good and explored a variety of chances to improve show rounds for the clients. It was a great opportunity to meet people working in a similar role to myself and being given an opportunity to compare what other colleagues standards are. It has definitely made me more conscious of the importance of show rounds and ensured that I never miss the easy opportunities to impress.'