The #1 Problem with Weekly Sales Meetings

Weekly sales meetings are legendary for their ineffectiveness. What makes a weekly sales meeting ineffective?

- When the sales force is less motivated to sell and excel after the meeting than they were before the meeting.

- Spending time sharing information that would be more efficiently and effectively communicated via email or some other method.

- Not following through on issues that were introduced or decided in previous sales meetings.

- Asking for feedback from the group when the sales manager really wants agreement rather than feedback.

- Having an unclear agenda.

- Attempting to get through too much material in too little time.

- Extending meetings beyond the scheduled end of the meeting.

- Getting inappropriately mired in details that should be sorted out individually, or in a coaching session with an employee, or by the manager locking herself in her office for an afternoon to figure out a solution to the problem.

- Allowing group think invade the meeting.

- Letting the sales meeting stray off topic.

- Allowing unplanned bitch sessions when most suggestions to management would be more effectively handled in a one-to-one forum rather than a group meeting.

- Not including some element of fun or levity when appropriate.

- Prematurely sharing news or introducing initiatives

- Wasting peoples' time.

But the number one problem with weekly sales meetings is:

Insufficient time and energy spent on the topic of sales.

Can you imagine a basketball team having a practice but not spending time on basketball? It would never happen. But many weekly sales meetings across the globe have become textbook examples of inefficient and ineffective management practice. 

Let's make sales meetings about sales again.

 

If you like this post (or don't) please leave a comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training.

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Comments

[sales training utah]

I really liked your post about how sales training meeting become ineffective. I thought your point about making sure you have an agenda was right one. I am really going to try and work on that! Thanks again!

[Jill]

A friend shared this post with me. I couldn't agree more with your list. We've all endured too many sales team meetings with the above "don'ts". Thanks for your post!

[Skip Anderson]

Thanks STU and Jill, I appreciate you stopping buy. I'm pleased you found value in the post.

[Scott Miller]

Great Post -

A sales meeting should bring value to the team as a whole - not just one person i.e. the sales manager.

Scott

[Michael Pedone]

Skip:

For all sales reps sake, I hope more managers learn they need to prepare ahead of time and not just "wing it".