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Are stand-ups just another trendy fad, or do they offer a daily checkpoint that could be vital to your success?

Like many other Agile management tactics, stand-ups have migrated from Silicon Valley to become a daily rhythm for teams across the world—the question is, should yours be one of them?

This week, we’re diving into

What an effective stand-up consists of
How to adapt the stand-up model for sales teams
Whether a stand-up is right for you or your sales team

So, what is a stand-up?

At it’s core, a stand-up is just another morning meeting archetype—but that’s not to say there aren’t reasons stand-ups have become increasingly popular, there are. Here are some of the core characteristics of a stand-up:

Take 15 minutes or less
Are held in a transitional space (e.g. a hallway, busy sales floor, etc.)
Require attendees to stand during the meeting
Built around questions

Before moving on, lets quickly dissect the underlying logic beneath each of these core characteristics—because without understanding the why behind the what, stand-ups can quickly become ineffectual meetings that attendees are quick to avoid and organizers loathsome to host.

Why stand-ups should take 15 minute or less

Perhaps the defining characteristic of standup is its promise to both organizers and attendees that it will only ever require 15 minutes of their undivided attention.

 Rather than scrutinizing achievements or solving problems, stand-ups are specifically designed to only recognize what’s working and what’s not, and to connect team members who can help each other repeat achievements and create solutions to persistent problems.

An effective standup should be devoid of bragging, complaining, and arguing, all of which result in lost time, ruffled feathers, and—ultimately—more meetings.

Limiting stand-ups to 15 minutes or less not only encourages regular attendance, but engaged attendees, resulting in fewer recapitulations and more time to accomplish the priorities at-hand.

Why stand-ups shouldn’t happen in meeting rooms

For much the same reason stand-ups should never take more than 15 minutes, stand-ups are best held in transitional spaces where attendees don’t enter ‘meeting mode’.

It may seem counterintuitive, but effective stand-ups are, in essence, regular meetings that feel like impromptu meetings. 

We all know the difference between a quarterly review and hallway chat with a colleague about a deal on the verge of closing—that’s the essential difference between a stand-up and any other regular meeting on your calendar.

Stand-ups are radically focused on the now—what’s happening today to influence results and drive business forward. Everything else not only can, but must, wait.

Why attendees should literally stand

If you’ve read the above sections, the why behind having employees stand for stand-ups should be self-evident; but, if you cut straight this core characteristic of effective stand-ups, there’s a reason for asking employees to stand—and it’s a stepchild of one of Dale Vermillion’s favorite phrase:

The mind can only take what the butt can stand.

Asking employees to stand not only reinforces the ‘impromptu’ feeling of stand-ups, but encourages everyone in attendance to keep their contributions brief, and gives a visual aid to organizers when they’re losing their team members’ attention.

Now, if you have any employee who for health reasons simply can’t participate in that way—don’t force the issue. But set the exception that stand-ups are conducted, well, standing, making sure to explain why to gain team member buy-in.

Why stand-ups are built around questions

Finally, and we’ll get much deeper into this core characteristic in our next installment, effective stand-ups are built around questions—not reports, KPIs, OKRs, BHAGs, or any other analytical tool.

The questions can and should vary from industry to industry, sometimes even from team to team, but they should never become section titles or agenda items.

Why? Because the goal of standup is to collect very quick answers from those in attendance.

There may or may not be a quick answer to how you’re tracking against your month-end sales goals, how your latest marketing campaign is performing, or whether a certain lead type is converting; but, there is a quick answer to what sales opportunities you have today, what marketing piece you can share today, or how many leads you plan to call today.

By finding targeted, action-oriented questions that tie into desired outcomes, stand-up organizers can quickly gain insight into team members’ priorities, chart a course for the day, and identify simple ways to equip or motivate team members to experience success today, not tomorrow, next week, or next month.

But do stand-ups work in sales?

The short answer: absolutely. But to make the point, we’ll share key tips from leaders employing stand-ups in their sales organizations to learn what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and ultimately to lay the foundation for an effective stand-up template for you or your sales team.