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Regroup… is this a new management trend?  Not a chance!  Regroup is simply an opportunity to end one month’s business cycle,recap the performance of the publications you manage and outline a plan of success for the new upcoming month.  Why does it work?  Because it allows each person on your team to assess their performance from the previous month,and make any necessary adjustments for the new month.  Here’s how it works.

Scheduling and preparing regroup:  Regroup should be scheduled during the slowest time of each month and should start early in the morning,if possible.  A solid and productive regroup takes about two hours and will require about one hour of preparation.  Be certain to have a blank chalkboard or a standing easel for taking notes and keep distractions to a minimum.  Regroup is also a time to build on the creative juices from each person on your team,so make regroup a special part of each month and allow everyone to have equal time to share their feedback.  Simply stated,there are no wrong questions or topics discussed at regroup and your team will respect and respond positively to this freedom.

Tip From The Coach: As an executive of your magazine publishing company,it is critical for you to attend regroup and actively participate in them.  Your preparation for each regroup should begin by reviewing the agenda from the previous month with your sales manager,to assess if the to-do list from last regroup was accomplished.  Then,review together the new regroup agenda making certain your manager’s gameplan is consistent with your publishing company’s goals and expectations.

Running the meeting: Each month’s agenda for regroup should begin by reviewing the financial information important to your company and its investors.  This might include “actual” revenue and income versus budget,advertiser retention percentages,collection issues or expense performance versus the budget.  Then,have your sales manager address any problems experienced during the past 30 days or any upcoming issues that will affect your business.  Next,map a calendar of activities that will develop new revenue opportunities.  This might include a monthly event to thrill your advertisers,a new marketing plan,or a special focus on your key prospects.  This part of regroup is where the creativity of your team really starts to roll and if you listen closely,you will hear many “golden” ideas.  Lastly,recap the team goals for the new month and close each regroup on a positive note!

Tip From The Coach: As an executive of your magazine publishing company,take detailed notes during regroup,then send a brief memo to your sales manager recapping the day.  Include in this memo a to-do list for the upcoming month,so your sales manager will clearly know what is expected.  Clear communication is the cornerstone of management success.

Meeting individually with your team:  At the close of each regroup,plan to spend another thirty minutes more with your sales manager to recap the day,cheer their success,and discuss the specific performance of each individual they manage. During this meeting ask your sales manager if he/she needs any additional support or training to develop their skills or the skills of their sales team.  This is the most important part of regroup as time spent developing your team for future opportunity,will make for pro-active management.  This means you always have team members ready to be promoted to the next position.  

Tip From The Coach: In the same spirit of the individual meeting you have with your sales manager,ask him/her to have a similar meeting with each member of their sales team.  This will help to grow their skills as a leader and you will want to attend the first few meetings to be certain the agenda for the individual meetings are exactly as you expect.  In fact,as a manager,always “inspect what you expect”.  A good rule of thumb!

Want to learn more about running a regroup meeting?  Fax a note on your letterhead to 435-615-8670 or send an E-mail to [email protected] and The Coach will fax/E-mail you a free TeleForum invitation.  During this call we will discuss how to implement the steps in this article.

About the Author
Ernest F. Oriente,The Coach, is the founder of PowerHour a professional business coaching/recruiting service and the author of SmartMatch Alliances. He has spent 46,960 hours [since 1986] delivering customized training,by telephone,in leadership,traditional/Internet marketing and sales for leading publishing companies in the real estate and apartment industry,advertising sales teams,free shopper publications and fast growing sales companies worldwide…E-mail [email protected] or visit their TeleForum websites: www.powerhour.com and www.coachingsuccess.com.