124 Sales managers, often overwhelmed by the fires that break out unexpectedly in the of- fice, and the mobs of people who continu- ously tug at them, find it nearly impossible to slam on the brakes for 30-45 minutes per meeting. They tell stories of salespeople who come to the meetings completely unprepared and lacking any new information to share. As a result, they find it hard to justify the time expenditure. Salespeople, often pressured by the urgent items screaming at them from their task lists, lack the sense of urgency to meet with their manager and find it hard to shut everything down for this regular meeting. They know they can find their manager if they need to, and after all, they have already reported their pending business for the week, so meeting for 30-45 minutes only feels redundant. They tell stories of sitting in their manager’s office with their eyes on the clock as their manag- er answers the phone or take questions from people who periodically pop in and interrupt. It is time to stop the insanity! Call an end to the mundane, mediocre meet- ings that waste everyone’s time. The fact is that these meetings, when done right, can be game changers. I’ve seen it happen. Great sales managers set the stage for great weekly individual focused meetings. Their formula involves the following 3 steps which ensure the meeting is productive for both the seller and the manager. Try these 3 steps this week and see if you can improve your own individual focus meetings: 1. Let the salesperson run the meeting. You are only there to be a resource for them and you should hand over the reins during this face-to-face. All individual meetings must fo- cus on the salesperson’s best customers (Key accounts) and their best prospects (Target ac- counts),butitneedstobetheirmeetingtorun. Remember to spend this time focusing only on accounts and account development. Coaching the seller to improve their skills should be done when you are in the field together. 2. Pay Attention and let them know this is important. Shut the door, turn off your phone, rotate your computer screen, turn down the volume on your computer, and limit any other dis- traction that might pull your attention away from your salesperson. Hang a note on your office door that says “Please do not interrupt. Individual Focus Meeting in progress.” (Start on time, take notes, actively participate, and “never reschedule.”) 3. Make a plan. Use this time to help the salesperson to build a plan that moves things forward. After you discuss each Key or Target account, make sure you ask these two easy questions: What is your next step with this account? What is your projection date to this get ac- complished?