Who the heck wants to have a MEETING?
Let’s face it, meetings stink. Nobody likes them. I don’t anyway. They’re long and boring, and we rarely get anything done. But we need them, don’t we? How else are people going to know what’s going on in the store? If there was only a way to make them more effective and heaven forbid, even enjoyable! Here’s a simple recipe that will kick your meetings up a notch. My buddy Jim Woodard in Tullahoma, TN, calls them team talks. Perhaps getting away from the word meetings will stimulate a tinge more enthusiasm for them.
Don’t confuse team talks with training. Team talks are for sharing information about store logistics and the day-to-day operations. Training should be a separate, concentrated session of learning something new or polishing up jewelry and sales knowledge. You should have team talks every day and do purposeful training once a week. More on that later.
Keep them short. I recommend 10 minutes tops. If you can set a time limit, you’ll show your team that you’re serious about respecting the seriousness of the information and moving on with your day.
Have them regularly. You should have team talk every morning before the store opens. It can happen as a focused discussion during setup or after setup, 10 minutes before you open the door every day. If you decide to do it during set up, be sure everyone is paying attention and not running off to the bathroom or grabbing the vacuum in the back room.
Have an agenda. What’s everyone’s schedule for the day? Goldsmith report of hot topics or projects. Marketing or promotions coming up. Lunch breaks. New inventory coming in. Sales goals for the day. Contest of the day. Create your own, but keep it short, simple and consistent every day.
Give praise. Point out something good that’s happening or what someone accomplished yesterday. Make it sincere and give praise for the behaviours that you want perpetuated.
Set outcomes. If you listen to Tony Robbins, he talks about outcomes rather than goals. Goals are things you shoot for. Outcomes are things that will happen today no matter what. Have everyone write down their outcomes for the day and track them at the end of the day. This can be anything from “Sell the 2-carat marquise ring to Janice” to “Contact 6 customers on my personal trade list.”
Stay on topic, get to the point and don’t dilly dally. You’ve only got 10 minutes, so don’t waste time. Your team will stay interested and be grateful that you’re not boring them to death with your ponderings. Take notes so that the folks who come in later can see what you’ve discussed.
Don’t think that because nobody likes team talks, you shouldn’t have them. They don’t like them because few people really know how to have a good one. Use this as your daily team talk template and raise the level of your team communication and awareness.