Sales meetings can be a waste of time—or they can be the most valuable hour of your week. If you’re leading a sales team, you already know that a rambling, unfocused meeting is where deals (and morale) go to die. The difference between the two usually comes down to the agenda.
This guide is for anyone who wants to set up practical, no-nonsense meeting agendas in Fellow that actually help sales teams close more deals—and waste less time. Let’s get into it.
Why Bother With Agendas (Especially for Sales Teams)?
Let’s be blunt: salespeople hate meetings that don’t move the ball forward. Agendas are how you keep meetings from spiraling into “updates for the sake of updates” or “story time with Bob from compliance.”
A clear agenda means: - No one walks in wondering, “Why are we here?” - You actually cover what matters—pipeline, blockers, next steps. - You build a repeatable rhythm, so it’s easier to prep (and improve) each week.
Fellow helps with this, but it’s just a tool. The real work is in being clear about what you want out of your meetings. Here’s how to do that.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Meeting’s Purpose
Don’t just fire up a recurring meeting and call it a day. Ask: what do we need to get out of this meeting—every single time?
For most sales teams, your main types of meetings are: - Pipeline review: What’s moving, what’s stuck, what needs attention. - Forecasting: Are we hitting targets? What’s at risk? - Deal strategy: How do we win this big account? - Coaching/1:1s: How can you help reps hit their number? - Team syncs: Quick updates, sharing wins, removing blockers.
Pick one purpose per meeting. If you try to cram everything into one session, you’ll end up accomplishing nothing. Be ruthless—split meetings if you have to.
Pro tip: If you can’t write a one-sentence purpose for your meeting, you probably don’t need it.
Step 2: Set Up a Template in Fellow
Templates save time and keep meetings from going off the rails. Here’s how to build one in Fellow that actually works for sales teams:
- Go to the Meetings section, and pick the meeting you want to template.
- Click “Add Template” or “Edit Template.”
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Start simple. Don’t create a 20-item list no one will read. Here’s a basic template for a weekly sales team meeting:
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Wins (5 min)
- Quick round: Who closed what? Any big calls worth sharing?
- Pipeline Review (15 min)
- Key deals in play
- Anything at risk?
- Blockers & Needs (5 min)
- What’s slowing us down? Who needs help?
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Next Steps & Actions (5 min)
- Who’s doing what before next time?
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Assign time to each section. Otherwise, you’ll spend 30 minutes talking about one deal and rush the rest. Be realistic—then stick to it.
- Save the template. Fellow lets you re-use this for all recurring meetings.
What works: Keeping the agenda short and focused. Everyone knows what’s coming, and there’s no “surprise” topics.
What doesn’t: Giant templates with too many sections. People tune out or don’t prep. Avoid the urge to over-engineer.
Step 3: Make It Collaborative (But Don’t Let It Get Out of Hand)
Fellow’s big selling point is that everyone can add to the agenda. This is great—if you set some ground rules.
- Ask reps to add discussion points or deals they want help with—before the meeting.
- Set a cutoff time. For example: “Add your points by 4pm the day before.”
- Don’t let the agenda become a dumping ground. If people add vague topics like “general updates,” ask them to clarify or cut it.
Pro tip: Use Fellow’s comments to clarify agenda items before the meeting. That way, you spend less time explaining and more time solving.
Step 4: Use Action Items—Or Don’t Bother Meeting
If your meeting doesn’t result in clear next steps, it was a waste. Fellow lets you create action items right in the agenda and assign them to specific people.
- At the end of each section, ask: “What are we doing next?”
- Assign owners and due dates. Don’t leave it up to memory.
- Review last week’s action items at the start of each meeting. This keeps everyone accountable—and shows you’re serious about follow-through.
Honest take: If you skip this, your meetings will become “update shows” where nothing changes. Don’t be that team.
Step 5: Keep Iterating—Don’t Set and Forget
No agenda is perfect forever. After a few weeks, ask your team: - What’s working in our meetings? - What feels like a waste of time? - What would make this more useful?
Tweak your template in Fellow as you go. Cut what isn’t working. Add what’s missing. Don’t be afraid to experiment—just don’t change things every week or people will stop taking it seriously.
What to Ignore (and What to Watch Out For)
There’s a lot of advice out there that sounds good but doesn’t help in practice. Here’s what to skip:
- Huge, detailed agendas. No one reads them. Keep it lean.
- Agendas that are just a copy of your CRM fields. Your CRM is for data; your meeting is for decisions and problem-solving.
- Letting every “urgent” topic bump the key items. Stick to your agenda. If something’s really urgent, schedule a separate meeting.
Watch out for: - Meetings that become group therapy. A little venting is fine, but keep things focused on deals and results. - People talking just to fill time. If you finish early, end the meeting. Don’t drag it out.
Example: A Real-World Sales Meeting Agenda in Fellow
Here’s an agenda you can steal, based on what actually works for most sales teams:
Weekly Sales Team Meeting
- Quick Wins (5 min)
- Celebrate closed deals or breakthroughs.
- Pipeline Review (15 min)
- Each rep: Top 3 deals, key risks, help needed.
- Blockers (5 min)
- Anything slowing you down? Any process issues?
- Key Metrics (5 min)
- Quick look at targets vs. actuals.
- Actions & Wrap-Up (5 min)
- Review action items, confirm owners.
Copy this into Fellow, tweak the sections and times, and you’re off to a solid start.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep It Useful
The best sales meetings are short, focused, and predictable. Setting up a clear agenda in Fellow makes that possible—but don’t overthink it. Start simple. Get feedback. Fix what’s broken.
Above all: if your meeting isn’t helping your team close more deals (or at least making their jobs easier), change it—or kill it. Tools like Fellow can help, but only if you use them to cut the fluff and focus on what really matters.
Now go make your meetings suck less. Your team will thank you.