Sales is the lifeblood of every company, and each moment in a meeting is a moment away from a potential customer. Yet, sales team meetings often become an hour-long status report that could have been an email. Each person gives a much longer than necessary update on their deal pipeline and you never get to reflect on what’s working and what’s not working. 

On the other hand, there might be a team lead that dominates your meetings, talking at team members about sales goals or corporate initiatives rather than with them. This is part of the reason why 90% of people daydream during meetings, 71% of people check social media, and 69% of people check emails. Meetings should be a time where you all brainstorm, problem-solve, and share insights together. 

Everyone is under pressure to meet deadlines and hit quotas, so make sure your meetings are focused and concise to maximize your time together. Get into the habit of sharing the agenda and status reports before the meeting. Spend your sales meeting digging into what you could have done differently to prevent a lost deal, or reflecting on the types of deals that are easiest to close. 

Setting the agenda ahead of time keeps you moving toward your sales goals, ensures you have more thoughtful conversations, and shows your team members you value their time.