Problem solving and managing meetings are core management skills and form part of any good management course.

The two main attributes of good problem solving meetings are that participants make many viable suggestions and that there is agreement on the best idea. There are, however, certain preconditions for conference success.

Keep the number of participants low (8 to 12 people). Sales executives are often afraid of speaking in front of a large audience.

Do not conduct these meetings either near the beginning of business hours nor towards the end.

These are times when the biological performance of the participants is at its lowest. A good time is from 10 to 11.30 a.m.

Limit problem solving meetings to 90 minutes. The participants cannot concentrate for any longer period of time. If longer is needed, take a ten minute break.

Experienced sales managers maintain that you are half way to solving a sales problem if you can define the actual problem. The difficulty with this is that the subject could be too narrow or too broad.

You can start once you have a fixed purpose of the meetings. Bear in mind the following advice:

1. Encourage participants to speak!

Create an atmosphere in which sales executives feel free to express their opinions. Nobody should be cut off. Try to prevent speakers from being interrupted.

Come to the assistance of anyone who is being mocked by a colleague.

Do not bring the discussion of a thorny issue to an end by simply saying "That is not a suitable area of discussion." The participants will see through this trick and you stand to lose your credibility. Management credibility is an important attribute as covered on a good management course. It should be up to the delegates to decide what topics are suitable for discussion.

2. Summarise problem areas on which agreement has been reached!

Problem solving meetings often begin somewhat chaotically. The participants express themselves perversely, disparagingly and critically. They prefer to criticise than make positive suggestions.

If several constructive suggestions are made on which there is agreement, try and summarise them: "From what I hear, most of you are in agreement on the point of supplying branches. There seems to be limited scope for complaints." By summarising the issue, you give the participants a breather and indicate that you are making progress.

3. Find out if disapproval is serious!

A sales executive thinks that the planned price increase will lead to a reduction of your company's market share. Do not assume this opinion immediately. If a delegate has misgivings, this does not mean that he believes the problem to be insoluble. If this view on the outcome of price increases is not shared by the other sales executives, the trepidation quickly dissipates.

As chairperson of the conference, you can make a few appeasing remarks. For example, "I remember the beginning of the year, we were the first branch to raise our prices. The spectre of a loss in market share was raised then too. Everything worked out after a few months and we even managed to improve our cover charge considerably."

There is another possibility of changing the mind of a sales executive who is worried about price increases. Say to him, "Let us assume that we raise our prices and thereby lose some of our market share. What do you think we can then do to make up for these losses?" If you force a sales executive to think about solving the problem, his misgivings soon disappear.

4. Determine responsibilities!

By the closing stages of the meeting, every contributor must know what they have to do, how much time in which it has to be done and to whom reports on development should be reported.

5. Keep every door open in case decisions have to be changed or reversed!

Peter Druker maintains that "the mark of a good decision is its reversibility." Declare your support for this theory at the conference.

Keep in mind what changes in direction may need to be made in case the decision that has been made turns out to be the wrong one.

Achieving positive outcomes in problem solving meetings makes a positive impact on business success and is covered in detail on a good management course.