How to decide upon the length of your meeting

The length of the meeting should be governed by your objective, because the meeting must last long enough for the objective to be reached. If you cannot accomplish your purpose, something must be changed. You need either a longer meeting or a smaller objective. In such cases, the fault usually is in the objective. Settle for an objective you know you can reach.

An inspirational meeting might be quite short. You can inspire a group in only ten minutes, with a good pep talk. An instructional type meeting would ordinarily last longer. Instruction should be retained by the audience and it takes time to drive information to the retention point. For instance, it’s often advisable to present the information visually as well as verbally, or twice instead of once.

A training meeting is still longer, as it involves trial performance. The salesmen “tryout,” under supervision during the meeting. Proper habits and techniques are developed. All this takes time.

Your meeting may include some of all of these inspiration, instruction, and training. In such cases, simply allow more time for the instructional part, and more time still for the section on training. The length of the sections can then be totaled to determine the length of the overall meeting.

Should salesmen be brought in from great distances, longer meetings are appropriate. Their travel is costly. Having already invested in their travel, you’ll want a maximum return for your investment. So travel expense is another factor to consider when deciding on the length of the meeting.

Sometimes you’ll complete a meeting ahead of schedule. If you’re sure the objective of the meeting has been met, call a halt! Stalling for time in order to “run out the clock” is a waste of valuable manpower. Further, it precludes ending the meeting on a high note.

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