Sales Meeting

It may seem silly to consider a timing device, but for any meeting longer than an hour you should use one.  Too many participants get carried away with themselves. Sometimes it’s a member of the audience who seems determined to bog things down with unscheduled discussion. A timer takes care of these situations in an impersonal inoffensive way.

Use any system you like, as long as you use one. There are several methods of “blowing the whistle” on participants.  An electric device can be obtained from companies that rent public address systems. It consists of three small lights: white for all clear, orange for a two minute warning, and red for over-time. This gadget is attached to the rostrum, where it can be seen only by the speaker. It’s a most effective tool for upholding your schedule.

Some have a buzzer on them. When the red light comes on it starts buzzing. Thereafter, the speaker finds it almost impossible to continue because of the buzzing noise.

When booking a meeting room at a hotel you often find such a gadget available. Hotels tired of overtime meetings long ago. Thus, many hotels provide a timer as part of the p.a. system.  A less ingenious method involves a simple noisemaker, operated by someone seated in the first row. A cricket chirper is often used, although any squeaky toy will do. While amateurish, a noisemaker is none the less effective.

In the absence of a better system, the person responsible for timing stands in the rear of the room. When overtime, he waves his arms like a mad man or holds up a sign. It usually works, too. Before long he’s bound to be noticed! “I’ve done this a couple of times,” said a hardware executive. “You feel like a fool when you do it, but you certainly keep the meeting on schedule.” The smaller the meeting, the more effective you’ll find this to be. The greatest objection to it, however, is that most of us get “cold feet” at the last minute.

It is somewhat extreme! So the timekeeper is reluctant to go through with it and waits until the proceedings are several minutes behind schedule. Then it’s too late, and his wildest arm-waving cannot turn back the clock. The point is this: hand signals will work if they are used with the same precision as other timing devices.  Using signs showing “10 minutes” and “5 minutes” and “Time” can work also.

You can interrupt by stating something like: “So that we won’t get behind schedule, Mary, will you try to finish in the next couple of minutes?” This is distracting to the audience, but it’s better than letting Mary throw you twenty minutes late.

Use judgment, however. If Mary appears to be in the final steps, wait a minute or two. She should close on a high note – not on an interruption by the timekeeper. Risk a minute or so if she seems about to conclude. Then if she doesn’t stop you can stop her.

Sales Meeting

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