6/26/2024-My manager junked up my pitch meeting, argh!

You’re cruising along in a big pitch meeting with one of your target accounts when your manager hijacks the meeting and starts rambling down No Value Highway.

Yikes. What do you do? Valuable minutes are getting chewed up.

The answer? Seize an opening and refer to the meeting agenda in hopes of re-centering everyone.

Try this: "Thank you for that, , …shall we all get back to number two on our agenda? … I know this is a hot topic for all of us." (Thank goodness you use agendas in your meetings!)

But what do you do after the meeting ends?

There’s not much you can do about what happened in the past, but you can control the future.

Today, schedule a practice session for your next big pitch meeting…and make sure your manager attends. If s/he squirms to get out of the practice, that’s your opening to share how you perceived her/his participation in the previous meeting.

In your practice session, assign everyone roles for the meeting, but also talk through how you all can address derailers…like your manager.

True or false: It’s up to you to train your manager.

Well…yes and no.

Be specific and direct to your manager about what you respond to (i.e., what best motivates you), but also, appreciate your manager knows a thing or two about the business and management.

Manager/seller relations are rarely perfect and if there isn’t a little tension here and there, then perhaps someone is holding out and not sharing the truth about needs and expectations.

Both sides need communication courage to reach a high level of trust. Here are a few tips that might help your communication efforts with your manager:
1. Be direct, honest, specific, and clear. Yeah, you know this…so do it. Don’t let problems fester.

2. Focus on strategic issues, not just the tactical stuff. Show your manager you know how to think critically about your business. In turn, you’ll force her/him to think critically for you.

3. Limit email conversations between you and your manager – too much context is lost when email is the dominant communication mode.

Don’t forget, a regular rotation of offsite meetings between the two of you will get you deeper on everything: business issues, interpersonal situations, and problem-solving, to name a few. Offsite 1:1s don’t have to be formal…just get outa the office every two or three months.

Finally, never talk smack about your manager to others. Even though your peers might be spewing at you while sipping a cold one at the bar, don’t fall for it. Not only is it a bad look, but it’s unfair to your manager and inappropriate.

Your manager is doing the best job possible to help you. If it’s not what you need or want, it’s ALSO on you to fix it.

You want to get to the point where others in your office know when you have a big pitch meeting coming up because they’ll see you in the conference room practicing with your mates.

Meeting practice needs to be a ritual.

Master basketball shooter Steph Curry knows about rituals, which he details in this video that chronicles everything he does before a game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOd7HTemROA