Stop Reporting the News

Read on: My website

Read time: 3 Minutes

One of the most time-consuming aspects of our day is meetings.

There are meetings with your team, customer meetings, project kick-off meetings, proposal meetings, operation meetings, HR meetings, the list goes on.

The last thing anyone wants to do is be in a meeting that drags on, discuss information that is not relevant to everyone in the room, or talk about information that people already know.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

The topic of meetings, how to run meetings, etc. is such an expansive topic to address. I’m just focused on one area today…to stress the importance of stop reporting on the status quo (the news)..aka…stop telling me things that I (or your team) already know or are outdated.

This is not just a one-sided issue. It comes down to both the leader and the person in charge of the information to be on their A-game, so let’s get you there.

Let’s dance.

Why Should I Care?

The last thing anyone wants to hear in a meeting is something…they already know.

Even worse…the last thing an executive wants to hear…is something THEY already know (or even more knowledgeable on). Which in turn will wonder why you are even working on a project and wondering what you are doing all day.

If you and your team have regularly scheduled team meetings to discuss pipeline, projects, proposals, legislative issues, etc. whatever it might be, make sure that you can discuss the pressing issues at hand that are relevant, and not things that can be read or your team and senior leadership already know about.

When meetings lack structure and purpose, teams disengage, leading to higher turnover and diminished results. Productive meetings are a reflection of leadership, and when done right, they propel the team toward success.

How It Impacts Their Daily Lives

Just reporting the status quo will lead to inefficient meetings and ultimately a drag down in morale, frustrate your team, and prevent them from focusing on their main job—whether that be selling, advocating, writing proposals, marketing, etc.

When reps see their time being respected, they show up more engaged, better prepared, and with clearer direction. It also creates more time for critical activities: prospecting, closing deals, and nurturing client relationships. Every interaction in these meetings can create momentum or slow it down.

Engage Your Center of Truth

Have at least one center of truth, the place where you can see all your leads, pipeline, proposals, projects, etc. Your visibility is critical so you can be on top of all aspects of growth. Your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or dashboard can be your sole source of understanding where you are.

From My Experience

Throughout my career, our sales meetings were just reporting what was in our Salesforce or Hubspot, we would go through the paces of opportunities, what would be coming in, when, proposal kickoff dates, what their priorities were, who’s working on them, due dates, etc. It was all seen in our CRM.

There were times when we would just go through the paces and get back to our everyday to-do list. With every CRM entry and every opportunity, there is a story deeper than what is actually entered in the data itself.

The customer relationships, where we stood with the customer, what can we do to improve our position with the customer, and who else is knocking on the door with our customer. That was needed to be on our weekly calls, not just if our opportunities were coming in so we can report those numbers to senior leadership.

The data is only as good as the individual who put the information in. If you can read the information online, there is no need to discuss it at a meeting. You want to know where the priorities are, discuss what needs attention (short and long-term), additional resources, possible executive support, what can you do to help move the needle, and more.

Action Items - Make the Most of Your Next Meeting

If You’re a Leader

Don’t use your weekly meeting to get you up to date. It can be viewed as selfish and not engaging with your team. These should not be an “update meeting” for you.

Be proactive before your meetings so you know your team’s opportunities in your CRM, and have an understanding of where the opportunities are, when they’ve been updated, and any recent changes. If there are any changes with opportunities that catch your eye, have them get brought up on the call if it concerns your team, if not go 1v1.

Set expectations that each week (or how often you get together with your team) you want to talk about actionable items that are not in your CRM, about how you can help your team close the next opportunity, fires that need to be put out, and what meetings are forthcoming, so you can engage your team on issues regards items that are not necessarily written down, but critical to the customer journey.

If you’re on your game for each meeting, set the expectation that everyone else will have to be to. Because once you set that bar and show it, your team will show up prepared.

If You’re a Rep

Customer relationships are tough to be able to gauge within a CRM or dashboard. You can build out a stakeholder map (highly recommend). If you have your weekly meeting on a Monday with your senior leadership team, block time in your calendar on the Friday prior for at least 30 minutes to update all your information.

Your leadership team is there to support you. If you need additional resources or help with connecting with a client (or executive team), or a proposal is going sideways, bring these issues up.

If your opportunities and projects are up to date, keep them up to date

Pack Some Additional Punch

Evaluate a meeting you’ve had over the past month that you know you want to improve on. Are they focused? Are they too frequent? Look at your next scheduled meeting and cut out any unnecessary items.

• Streamline the agenda

• Clearly define the goals (you and your team)

• Focus on making the meeting shorter but more effective

• Challenge yourself and your team to improve one meeting at a time

Results will speak for themselves over time.

Conclusion

Unfocused meetings frustrate everyone. Every sales meeting should drive action, create alignment, and push the team closer to its goals.

Not every opportunity moves at the speed that you (or your senior leadership) want to. Understand what’s in your control (your relationship with the customer, draft pricing, kick-off dates, etc.) and what’s out of your control (i.e., government shutdown, layoffs, restructuring, cybersecurity breaches, the list goes on).

Your goal is to transform these meetings from mundane check-ins into powerful, focused conversations that elevate the entire team. Take control of your meetings, and make them impactful.

That’s all I have this week. Have a great week and see you next week

Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:

1. Unlocking Hidden Potential - Reconnecting with Past Clients for Explosive Growth - Check out my free eBook on how you can find hidden gems in your past clients and help you crush your sales goals.

2. Build your Sales CRM - Download our free Sales eBook on How Your Sales Team Can Maximize Your CRM Tool. Whether it’s Hubspot, Salesforce, or another CRM tool, make sure you leverage it to your advantage.

3. Awesome Sales Resources - Transform your sales engagement and capabilities across Social Selling, CRM, Lead Generation, Enablement, and more.

4. Cribworks Advisor Program - Want more than just resources? Reach out to me and see if our Advisor Program can help you grow your business.