When to have a (sales) meeting or how not to waste people’s time

Have you ever sat in a meeting, sales or otherwise, and wondered why you were there? Why some of the other people were there? Better yet, have you ever organized and led a meeting where the participants were wondering why they were there? Meetings, if done correctly, can inform or get decisions made or both. Here are some quick tips to make the meeting more productive.
First, ask yourself, does the meeting need to be held? If no, move on to your next activity. If yes, what type of meeting is it – information exchange or decision-making? Is the purpose of the meeting to rehash old news or bring something new to the table? Are you trying to facilitate decision-making, resolve a conflict, to motivate and/or promote cohesion? Figure that out now.
Next, who needs to be present? Is it the entire company or just your immediate team? No need to bring in folks who either can’t contribute to the meeting or can’t utilize the information presented. Don’t waste their time. Just remember the last time you were told to attend a meeting and you had no idea why you were there.
Finally, before the meeting ends, do two things. First, assign actions items with due dates – and hold them accountable. Second, set the date for the next meeting assuming a next meeting is needed.
After all is said and done, and the meeting is over, ask yourself, was it worth the time, energy, expense and effort to take these employees away from their daily duties and have them sit in a meeting. Was the expense worth the outcome?
Dave Harman is an associate with Sandler Training. He has over 30 years’ experience in sales and sales management with Fortune 500 companies as well as small, family-owned organizations. He has held positions from sales to senior management with companies such as Conoco/Vista, Amresco and Ohio Awning, and owns his own business. He earned his MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. You can reach him at [email protected] or (888) 448-2030.