WholeLife Matrix: Financial Viability – Profitability – Weekly Meetings

“Make meetings work.” ― Zoho.com

How can you make sure that you get the most out of a conference call?  It is often easy to get distracted during a conference call because we don’t see the people we are speaking with face to face.  In this article, we offer some tips to help you get the most out of your conference calls.

The first thing you can do to get the most out of a conference call is to prepare for it.  If there is an agenda, read through it so that you will know what to expect in the meeting, think of questions to ask, and think of how you may contribute to the meeting.  Make a list of your questions and ideas and have them handy for the meeting.  Ask the organizer of the conference call if you can help them prepare for the meeting.  Perhaps you can help them to secure a guest speaker, do research, send out the agenda, be a timekeeper or topic leader, etc.   You can also offer to present a case study, funny story, or present highlights for the week.

Pay close attention during the meeting and contribute to the discussion whenever you have comments, suggestions, questions, or ideas.  While on the call, do not browse the internet, answer your phone, or respond to an instant message. 

Since you cannot see the people you are speaking to when you are on a conference call, listen to cues in their voices about what they are feeling and thinking.   Ask yourself if the participants seem happy, tense, nervous, concerned, etc.  Also pay attention to your own voice and mood.  Think about how you may be sounding to other people and what impression they are getting from your comments and tone of voice. 

Be professional and polite. Wait your turn to speak and consider the ideas of others.  Ask people if they have any questions about what you have said and give them time to respond.  Be clear, concise and articulate. 

Another great thing to do during meetings is to recognize and support your team for accomplishments and celebrate their successes.   You can even give rewards for achievements such as team-based rewards, fun, competitive, or recognition-based rewards.

Encourage your team members to stay on top of their game by helping them to develop their skills in lead generation, networking prospecting, presenting solutions, closing, public speaking, and more.  At each meeting, you might ask someone to teach something they know and ask someone to share something they tried that is working for them.  Ask them how and why they do it and how can others use the information.

In the WholeLife Matrix, we list four main types of meetings that you can have in your company.  These include the following:

1. Accounting
2. Productions
3. Sales
4. Estimating