ENABLEMENT LEADER: “You think I can get our Frontline Managers to devote one hour to their weekly 1:1s?”
ME: “What the hell else are they doing?!”
In sales leadership, I’ve discovered that there are two types of people: Those that get it and those that don’t.
Here’s the truth. . .
The Weekly 1:1 is the single most important meeting of the week—especially for FLMs.
Why?
This is how you ensure your frontline team is consistently executing at a high-level—and continuously learning, growing, and improving.
Most of the time 1:1s are NOT executed properly and there’s this awkward, manager vs. subordinate dynamic resulting in either…
(A) “Yelling at the scoreboard” situation where the manager is tracking data, telling reps what to do—but not adding any value by actually showing them HOW to do it or coaching them through the process or…
(B) Degenerates into an interrogation of the pipeline, introducing friction into the relationship dynamics and buy-in process, preventing reps from doing what it is you want them to do.
However, when you swing around to the same side of the table and facilitate 1:1s the right way—like a world-class coach—here’s just a snapshot of what you can accomplish:
◆ Quick human-to-human connection touch point where you can check in with your people to see how they’re doing on a personal level—reaffirming that you care about them, believe in them, and genuinely have their best interests in mind.
◆ Help your reps minimize distractions and ensure that they’re focused on executing the right short-term priorities (i.e. Pipeline Generation and Deal Progression.)
◆ Check to make sure that they’re prepared for—and understand how to execute—high-impact meetings with precision. (If not, you show them how and help coach them through the process.)
◆ Align with your people by asking one simple, yet incredibly powerful question, “What can I do to help?”
◆ Close the loop to hold your team accountable—and for your team to hold you accountable—for doing what each of you committed to doing the previous week.
◆ Collectively look the white board trying to expose gaps in deals and brainstorming how to close them, together as one team.
◆ Positively reinforce the right behaviors and celebrate the short-term “weekly wins” which builds self-efficacy, self-confidence, and momentum.
◆ Capitalize on data-driven development opportunities to help team continuously up-level their skillset so they can reach the next level of performance.
TAKE AWAY
Weekly 1:1s could either be a complete waste of time…
A painful interrogation of the pipeline…
Or the most impactful meeting of the week that reps actually look forward to.
As with anything, it all boils down to execution.
Invest the time to optimize your 1:1s. Your people are worth it.
