Sales Meetings Suck.

Depending on the industry you work in, most sales meetings happen on either Mondays or Saturdays. They are, generally speaking, about as enjoyable as a proctology exam from a lava monster.

Most sales meetings suck because the managers are overworked and want to try and coach everyone at the same time. It does not work.

The reason sales meetings suck is because they don’t pertain to you.

Yes you!

Sitting in the middle of the conference table to avoid attention. You know, the one with the comically oversized energy drink and the vapid look on your face. (I have been there too. A lot.)

The reason is simple. Coaching cannot be done in a group setting. Training can be, but training is drastically different than coaching.

Imagine having the best basketball coach in the world. They stand there next to you and look at your form. They lift your elbow, widen your stance and adjust the way you put your hands on the ball.

Training, by comparison, is like watching a Golden State Warriors game (When they are healthy). Sure, you may be able to pick up a few things about ball movement and defensive strategy, but it is not tailored to YOUR NEEDS.

So why does the meeting suck? Because it has virtually nothing to do with you. The manager is trying to speak to everyone rather than coach you one on one.

Rather than a single sales meeting with 10 people. a manager will have better results talking to each of his 10 salespeople directly for 5-10 minutes each rather than recite Zig Ziglar lines to a room full of distracted and hungover salespeople.

I understand sales managers get overwhelmed. They tend to get sucked into EVERY other part of the business and have very little spare time. That is all the more reason why they should not waste it by talking to themselves in front of a bored audience.