By Janet Daniels
How many times have you had a team meeting and were disappointed because you thought more people were coming than actually did? We’ve all felt that way, haven’t we?
Here are three things to think about to help get your team to meetings.
Recruiting – When my meeting attendance was down, I learned to look at how my recruiting was trending. Here’s what I found. When recruiting was down, my meeting attendance was usually down. New Consultants add the energy and excitement to the team. They are eager to learn about their new business and want to attend team meetings. As an extra bonus, when they came, their recruiter usually came with them.
Communication – Does everyone know when the next team meeting is? Has it been in their schedule at least a month in advance? Or do they find out about it the week before? That was me at the beginning of my career. I was flying by the seat of my pants, scheduling meetings at the last minute hoping my team would come. Needless to say, my attendance suffered. I learned that it worked better to plan team meeting dates in advance and write them in new consultant’s calendars as part of their training. Then, review the dates at every meeting with everyone. Also, it was helpful to keep meetings at the same time every month, i.e. the first Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.
Value for time – The best way to assure that your team wants to come to meetings is to give them value for their time. Make your meetings inspirational, have great training, give good information about the promotions and challenges and most importantly have FUN! Remember, when you involve your team in meetings, it gives them another reason to come. Let your “hot shot” new consultant talk about why she’s excited about her new business, have a future leader talk about why she’s looking forward to promoting to leader, make sure your top seller and recruiter from the previous month are helping with the training. Find a way to let others contribute by being greeters, handing out door prize tickets, taking pictures or bringing refreshments to share. When your team is involved, they feel important and your attendance will grow!
Your most important meeting of the summer will be coming up soon. Your national conference can be an opportunity to launch your team into a highly productive and enjoyable season this fall. To support your leadership, Team Connections is offering a free webinar to Make Conference Matter. We’ll cover how to maximize your national convention this year on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. EDT, 10:30 a.m. CDT, 9:30 a.m. MDT, 8:30 a.m. PDT. Conference call lines are available for both the U.S. and Canada. You can find more details here and can register as well.
