tropicalisland

Account Executive

1:1 with your sales manager. Productive? or Waste of time?

1:1 throughout my career have been non-productive. They always felt one sided, I care more about the outcome than my manager. And even when I make sure to include an agenda with the action items that I want to discuss, managers always come to the meeting unprepared, lost and uninterested.

For reps:

What has been your upside with 1:1? or share some horror tales, everyone loves a good campfire story.

For sales managers:

What are you doing to make 1:1 a productive use of time? Do you even do 1:1? and if you do How often?

🧢 Sales Management

130 comments

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SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

productive when your manager takes notes of common pains and takes action to solve them
unproductive if it's about micromanagement.

that said you can gauge from the 1 on 1 what is a priority from your manager.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Solid answer. If the 1:1 meeting is always getting pushed out because something pressing came up, you know where this conversation falls in importance for your manager.

SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

exactly and you know what kind of manager you are dealing with if you are not a priority. There should be a recurring meeting that is biblical just to touch base especially if you work remotely.

CadenceCombat

Tycoon

Account Executive

Well said @SalesPharoh

SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

Thank you...trying to give back quality contribution like yourself.

mosales

Executive

Account Executive

From a rep perspective, it really depends on your manager. If they're doing 1:1's because that's what they're required to do as part of their job and just use the time to tell you things you already know like you need to hit your numbers, make more calls, send more emails, etc...it's a waste of time

I personally have a great manager and consider him a great leader. We use our 1:1's to one, sync and catch up because we all work remote, two, talk about any challenges or issues i'm running into with a deal and how he can help me push it forward, and three, what am not happy with and how we can solve/change things to make it better

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I agree, the 1:1 cannot be to discuss the information you can find in SF if you bother to look. Thanks for sharing!

Dealsonwheels

Opinionated

Technical Sales Executive

I feel this so much. I don't know how to tell my boss this though. Gotta put on my big boy pants and just tell him I guess.

SourMash

Good Citizen

Write it off what?

Great points. I've had experience with managers where it's all about running my numbers and checking boxes - that's the difference between a manager and a leader.
The best 1:1's are focused on improvement and positive outcomes. Whether that be facing an issue/challenge, game-planning a live opp, or discussing what is/isn't working around the team.
Where are we today and what can we do to get to where we want to be tomorrow?

AssistantToTheRegional

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Your 1-1 is what you make of it. I think it's the rep's time to set the agenda just like they would with a prospect. Set expectations. Tackle the pain points and figure out if your manager will help you or not on the call not in an email.

nomdeguerre

Executive

Account executive

I agree to some extent. Although there are unfortunately lots of managers out there who offer very little value to the rep during 1-on-1s. Often they just use the time to pester the rep about the information that is already in the CRM (as they have requested), instead of using the time to truly coach and help the rep moving his deals forward.

They approach their job by managing to the goals, i.e. KPIs and quota, the problem is you can manage to a goal - it is impossible. I think these goals are the most misunderstood thing in sales. The goals are there to measure if the rep is doing the right things day in and day out. The goals are actually not goals, they are measures.

Sure the rep needs to hit the quota as anybody in sales, but sitting around and thinking about the quota will do absolutely nothing for the rep. In fact, it will probably just stress him out and lead to paralysis. A rep needs to have the ability to back into his or her number, i.e. if I have to hit this number what are the activities and behaviors that I need to have to get to that goal?

Those are things that we can manage to, and it is the primary job of the manager to help the rep achieve this and coach them to arrive at the right conclusion for what they need to do.

Of course, this requires two main things: 1. a common language, so when the manager and the rep are talking they understand the same things (this is primarily the responsibility of the manager). 2. all the basic information needs to be updated in the CRM so that the manager and the rep don't have to spend their time on trivial things, and of course, the manager needs to review what is in the CRM otherwise it is pointless.

If all this is in place, then 1-on-1 can be useful, but to say that it is just up to the rep to make them useful is not reasonable, and if that was the case what are we paying the manager for?

Just my two cents.

ellesells

Opinionated

Account Executive

As a rep, I think with each passing 1:1, your manager should be learning enough about you, your challenges, and your accounts to offer more personalized direction, as opposed to the same "keep doing what you're doing" that they offer to everyone.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Exactly, every future 1:1 has to build from the previous one; if they don't, then what is the point. Thanks for the share!

MSPSales

Politicker

Partner Development Manager

TBH it’s hit or miss depending on the manager. Some of the managers I have had treated it as a forecasting call but that’s redundant because we have a forecasting call already. Others want to so over close ratios that other kpis that fluctuate very little week to week.

The best ones have been where those 30mins are my time to discuss how my manager can help with any problems that have come up

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Hate it when that happens. If you wanted to discuss my pipeline, you can pull a report from SF.

I agree. The productive 1:1s in my career are with managers that are as invested in my career as I am. Thanks for sharing!

RobNap

Good Citizen

Founder

Having been on both sides of this I have been in orgs/roles where the 1:1s were super impactful and been with manager/orgs that they were not impactful.

1:1s are only as good as the company and managers make them, meaning they need to have intention.

This should not be a meeting to poke holes in your rep's pipeline and have them spend 30 minutes defending or convincing you on what they are doing.

Good 1:1s should be about intentional improvements:
How are you doing? What do you feel is going well? What personal wins do you have? What are you struggling with? Where can I/we better train or support you?

When leadership views 1:1s with intentions to make sure that reps are feeling heard and giving them space to really tell you where they need support AND as a manager you listen and give them a safe space to do that and then ACTION on it, 1:1s become super-efficient and successful.

Unfortunately, most times managers also carry a quota and get pulled into other meetings to defend their team that 1:1s tend to get pushed, this shouldn't happen. This is where growth happens for reps. In my opinion.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Without intention, it can easily become a checklist. If your manager is always pushing 1:1s to make room for "important meetings" that should let you know how important that conversation is for them. I'll give you a hint... is not. Thanks for sharing!

RobNap

Good Citizen

Founder

Exactly!

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I find them pretty helpful. We do ours once a week on Mondays to go over what's going on for the week/any questions/stats from the week. I find it helps keep me accountable and motivated, as I don't want to come into a Monday meeting with nothing on the go for the week.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

It allows you to start the week with clear goals to focus on. I love it. Thanks for sharing!

MrMotivation

Politicker

Sales

As long as you have an agreed upon consistent agenda, they are valuable. if it is an hour, have time slots for different topics. Current ops, ops you need their help with, breaking into a tough account, their feedback etc.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I love that. You can break up the hour in 20 minutes sprints and cover multiple topics. Thanks for sharing!

OneCallClose

VP, Client Services

As a rep, 1:1’s were very helpful early in my career, though I should say I had a good manager at that time. It was an opportunity to get mentorship from him. More experienced reps don’t benefit from them at high frequency, but still believe in it maybe bi weekly or less. As a manager I do 1:1’s, but not arbitrarily. For example, if I’ve been in close contact with a rep as of recent and know that he/she is a savage - don’t want to waste their time!

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

An invested manager is key, fully agree with you. You got to find the balance, but always have the time available and then leave it to the discretion of the rep if he/she wants to take it. Thanks for sharing!

beachNsales

Politicker

Sales Manager

I don't think it's a waste of time, but I also don't think these need to be held weekly, especially on a small sales team. If your team is 2-5 people you're already communicating with you manager daily.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I agree. On a small sales team communication should be constant if not we have a problem. Thanks for sharing!

snazzy

Praised Answer

I do think that there comes a time where 1:1 meetings are a way for sales managers to say how busy they are. I'd love to see a more consistent flow of offering sales materials, and feedback initially. Eventually, that can phase into speaking about the next steps in your career path and aligning with you to ensure you are fully prepared.

It is so important for salespeople to have control of their calendars.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I agree. It becomes an illusion for their bosses to show that hey if the salesperson misses quota is not my fault. Control of your calendar as a salesperson is crucial. Thanks for sharing!

TheLaughingWolf

WR Officer

Business Development Manager

With the company I am currently with, I enjoy the 1 on 1's. But that is because what a lot of people here are mentioning.

We talk about progress I am making
If there is anything holding me back
Is there anything that they or the company can do to overcome any current problems
Any interesting conversations that I have had
Career Goals

Then we talk about our personal lives.

We have our 1:1's once a month so we are not getting swamped by meetings. But If I ever need to talk, he is always there to help.

It really makes a difference if you can tell that the manager actually cares about you and is not just doing this because it is their job.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

That's the key - If your manager actually cares. Thanks for sharing!

brotato

WR Lieutenant

Head of Sales

A real leader, not someone just acting as a manager, would make 1:1's exclusively about the employee. It's time to talk what's going on personally, how an employee is tracking towards career goals and professional growth, and looking at a codified promotion pathway to the next level and what needs to happen for progress.

Then, separate performance meetings occur that are your run of the mill pipeline reviews and deal strategy. I used to tell me reps if you're not making me waste my time micromanaging you, I won't waste our 1:1 time talking pipeline and performance.

SethDavis

Fire Starter

Enterprise Account Manager

I had two District Managers in the past year.

The first was a "Lead by Example" type, a real servant leader. If there was a question they were the first to screen share and show you how it's done. Give guidance, and respond instantly when help is needed.

The second just whips through what matters to them, Commit, Deal Revue, and so on. You can tell they just collect the info that you know they roll up in their 1x1's. As soon as they get through their checklist they just ask, "What can I do for you? How can I help?". Absolute waste of time.

There are good leaders and bad, and I think as a result there are good 1x1's and bad. The first manager and I had consistent hour long meetings if not longer. All strategy, planning, and deal work. The second is just bullshit. We just agreed to shorten our 1x1's to half hour at my request, I don't need to keep wasting my time helping her checklist.

Sincerely,

Seth Davis
Senior Broker
JT Marlin

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Gotta respect the Boiler Room reference - Doc: Marlin? Vin Diesel: He's my father

Leading by example is the only way to gain trust from your team. Thanks for sharing!

Gabriel

Old School Bravo

Enterprise Director

Productive if you stick to an agenda

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

100% Thanks for sharing!

Trinity

WR Officer

BusDev

1x/week. I always start with how the day/week has been going for them, and that sets the tone on the 1:1 convo and tie with performance expectations. Focus on what works and where they may need help/support (work-related and/or empathize with something going on with their personal lives). I also keep it at 20-30 mins max.
I once had a Managing Director set-up weekly meetings for 30 mins that would go for 1 hr, apropos of nothing.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Completely agree with you. Time is too precious to waste it on a meaningless meeting that takes us nowhere.

sebs

Politicker

BDR

From experience, having 1:1 seemed kinda tedious but they help a lot (if the Sales Manager. actually trying to be helpful).

In a new role, we don't have 1:1s at all because people are all supposed to be "autonomous." I can't even count how many times people have tripped up and made the same mistakes because of it...

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

They do help if done right, more times than not it depends on your manager and their willingness to actively contribute to the discussion. Thanks for sharing!

sebs

Politicker

BDR

100%

You can really tell when a manager really cares about your success versus when they're just covering their own ass. And the former seems to work better for results anyway, otherwise 1:1s just seem like a waste of time

salesman

Account Executive

I think forced 1:1 end up not being very productive. If it is every Wednesday at 12:00 then your manager is probably not thinking about it until the minute it gets there.

My manager and I 1:1 when we have stuff that needs to be talked about not just every week at the same time.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

An open policy, I like it. Is the same with performance reviews, if your manager waits until then to let you know what you're doing wrong or right, we have a problem in our hands. Thanks for sharing!

FullyDiluted

Opinionated

Account Director

As a rep, they're only useful to me if I show up to the 1:1 with one or two specific things that I need help with.

Otherwise they can just turn into a pipeline review and a bunch of "whats the next step?"

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Gotta love a good "what's the next step question" Well, manager if you would invest in a tool like Gong or Chorus.AI I wouldn't need to answer such a pointless question during our 1:1. Thanks for sharing!

RealEstateVeep

Politicker

VP of Real Estate

Before my current job I would say waste of time. However my current sales manager is awesome. Most internal meetings however, are a complete waste.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

They can swing either way. Is like a box of chocolate, you sometimes don't know what flavor you going to get. And yes, I quoted Forest Gump. Thanks for sharing!

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

I think it really depends on the manager, as well as the scale of the organization and the frequency with which they occur.

I've been on both sides, and have sometimes seen the value and many other times not.

I feel that the effectiveness depends on the goals/reasoning. A lot of the time it's just top-heavy management, and the manager is just transferring the pressure put on them by their director, who is passing on the pressure THEY'RE receiving.

Weekly 1:1's are a waste of time for the most part, at least in my opinion. I think consistent communication and understanding can render them pointless. I

Once a quarter is probably a good thing, provided the SM is open and always encourages interaction from their team.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Weekly can be overkill. You should at least have consistent dialogue with your manager in a week. Thanks for sharing!

Jnye

Enterprise account executive

It’s on you as the rep to make it productive by coming prepared with what you need from your direct manager. Don’t look at it as an empty time slot. Come prepared with questions or guidance needed and you’ll find value.

If it’s an opportunity for micro management. Take charge and ask thoughtful questions to open the discussion. Think growth within the company and personal. Specific deals. Strategy on territory alignment/ account alignment.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

You're right, as a rep you must own the conversation and its direction. Thanks for sharing!

Jnye

Enterprise account executive

You got it.

wahmsales

WR Officer

SDR

I found them productive at one company, not so productive at another. The manager who did them right would either help me with things I was struggling with (objections, no-shows, etc.) or he would want to know how I was really doing. He was great at listening and guiding. I often ended up in tears in those 1:1s, but having him as a virtual shoulder to cry on when I was having a bad week/month made me want to do even better for him.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I agree. If you're in sales you need someone you can confide in and share your current emotions, bad and good. As salespeople we tend to try and figure it ourselves which can lead to a lot of mental health and physical health issues. Thanks for sharing!

sundayporchclub

Good Citizen

Director of Recruiting

As a manager - I do a 30 minute 1:1 each week - and takes precedence over all other meetings. I let each rep come to me with whatever they want to talk about, related to work or not. Taking that time to get to truly understand what their thought process and feelings are like - that will come in much more handy later down the line with incentivizing them, rather than me just trying to be a big swingin dick and tell them a bunch of nonsense

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

A standing ovation to you! I can imagine a lot of "dashboard managers" struggled to connect with their reps during the pandemic, especially during the crazy months between March and May of 2020. Caring for your reps at a personal level is the way to build trust. Thanks for sharing!

Zbocashmoney

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

I have always found as a rep the most productive 1:1's is when I lead the session, most manager will turn to activity, KPI's and Deal reviews if you don't have talking points prepared.

Pro tip, if you manager sucks ask questions you know will take a long time and the meeting will fly. I.e what does the team need to do to exceed? What does the VP of our region say on this? etc

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

You're 100% right. A 1:1 discussion should always be led by you. Setting up an agenda in advance to allow the manager to prepare is key. Thanks for sharing!

ChuckFurn

Old School Bravo

Senior Key Account Manager, Client Success

I think 1:1s are pretty important to ensure that you as a rep can see a true vision for what you want to do and what impact you want to be able to make at the company. And to also get feedback on the actions you’re taking that may help or hinder you from getting there.

But if there’s no follow up by your manager, then sometimes it can be “in one ear, out the other”. A good manager is following up with you consistently and cheering you on/pushing you to reach those goals.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I agree. A path for growth is needed to grow within any organization. If you're lucky to have a manager that supports such growth, your lucky. Thanks for sharing!

SaaS_Slanger

Old School Bravo

Regional Sales Manager

I Hold a 30-minute 1:1 weekly with each of my sales reps. I let my reps lead the conversation as it is their time to: strategize on deals, air out grievances, give me feedback, and generally discuss anything they want. If they do not have much to discuss that week I come prepared with questions or topics to cover. For my more tenured reps, we normally leave time to discuss morale at a team and individual level. I want them to share how the team is generally feeling and if there are any issues on the floor. I also like to pick their brain on topics to cover on our weekly team meeting and spitball ideas for spiff or contest I plan on running through the quarter.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

Awesome! The rep is in charge and as a manager, you're their resource to benefit from. Love it! Thanks for sharing!

SonomaKitsune

VP of Sales

For sales leaders:What are you doing to make 1:1 a productive use of time? Do you even do 1:1? and if you do How often?
1:1 done every Monday, and team meeting every Friday (green light / red light team conversations). The sessions are not for information gathering (that's what your CRM is for)...but to serve for identifying how you can support your AEs, leaders, CS, and prospect/customer (discuss strategy, identify risk and collaboratively work on a plan to mitigate, etc.)

Here are wonderful 1:1 templates (I do not work for this company).
https://support.atriumhq.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026721971

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

"The sessions are not for information gathering (that's what your CRM is for)" love it! I appreciate the article share, read it last night and already started using some of its advice for my own 1:1s. Thanks for sharing!

WhereverYouGoThereYouAre

Fire Starter

VP, Sales

As a leader I have always felt 1:1s should be bi-weekly. Why? For the reason of making sure they are impactful. If someone needs more than that, I have always kept my calendar up to date and open for them to book the time they need.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

I saw a LinkedIn post about what bi-weekly stands for, a lot of people see it like every other week vs those who believe it stands for twice a week. I'm assuming you're referring to every other week, typically every two weeks. I love that. Thanks for sharing!

WhereverYouGoThereYouAre

Fire Starter

VP, Sales

Haha - yes, every two weeks. Could you imagine? Twice a week? YIKES!

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Productive when you have a focused manager who values your time and doesn't use your meeting as a defacto piss break.

Not product when they spend the first 15 minutes talking about why their spouse is upset with them or why the drywall being installed in the guesthouse bathroom is taking so long.

In short, not productive.

tropicalisland

Arsonist

Account Executive

It sounds like you have stories to tell. Thanks for sharing!

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tropicalisland

1:1 with your sales manager. Productive? or Waste of time?

130 comments

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