The last thing you want your sales team to be are firefighters.
But let’s consider for a moment the right time and place to extinguish an issue – before it becomes engulfed in flames.
That place is your weekly meeting. Not in the middle of your workday, when you and your team should be client-facing, making contacts, and offering solutions to pain.
Those interruptions kill momentum and damage morale.
You need a parking lot for these issues—or at least the ones that can wait.
“Sales professionals spend just 28% of their week actually selling, with the remaining 72% consumed by administrative tasks, internal meetings, CRM updates, tool navigation, and other non‑revenue activities.”
— Salesforce State of Sales Report (2022, 7,700+ respondents across 38 countries)
Compartmentalization is at the heart of David Allen’s Getting Things Done model – and a major part of my leadership and work style. If you don’t have a place to park things, they’ll slow your team down.
Here’s the rub:
Anything you’re thinking about – but not taking action on – is draining your energy.
So when a fire pops up, you’ve got two options:
Option One: Handle it now.
If it can be resolved in two minutes or less, just do it. That’s GTD 101.
Option Two: Park it.
If it’s meatier – less “fire,” more “issue” – capture it and move it into the Issues section of your next weekly meeting.
The benefit? You’re no longer reacting in the moment.
By the time the issue comes up at the meeting, everyone’s had a chance to process, prepare, and bring a thoughtful solution to the table.
Do this with your Leadership Team Meeting, Sales Meeting, 1:1 Meetings, and any other recurring syncs.