How I eliminated meetings from my business
We've fallen into a trap of believing that more communication means more progress. But the reality? Better leadership, empowered team members, well-documented SOPs, and clearer communication (live or recorded) drive real progress.
Nobody hates small talk and meetings more than I do. If there's a way to communicate via chat, email, WhatsApp, or video recording, I'll find it.
As a toddler mom, the only holiday deal I'm shopping for is time back. Meetings cost me way too much, and that's truly where I need a discount.
The Spacious Calendar Lie
I've seen countless marketing messages about a "spacious calendar". In theory, it sounds great. In practice, we struggle. I've observed a trend where founders will eliminate client or sales calls, only to fill their calendars with other types of busy work. They remain the bottleneck and unable to truly operate in the CEO seat.
We all know most meetings are unnecessary. But in the absence of solid operations, they've become one of the only ways to feel safe and seen. The security we seek through check-ins and syncs can be created by developing reliable systems.
I can confidently talk my ish on Threads or pitch my companies because I know I have the team and systems to back me up. My systems and operations are my safety net.
Three Ways to Meet Less
Below are the 3 things that allow me to keep feeling safe in what I have built and remain in CEO mode with just 2 meetings per month.
Emphasize autonomy and ownership in my company culture
I adore my team. They are experts, and I stand ten toes down on that. Recently, I was getting pulled in a million directions, and my phone was nonstop. I reminded the leadership team of my expectations and gave parameters on when to involve me in their areas of responsibility.
Now, I must be mindful not to sabotage or punish autonomy. I have to follow their lead - even if it’s not my preference - as much as I need to be their leader. This allows them to feel ownership in their roles and make decisions without requiring my constant input.
Replace weekly meetings with a CEO Dashboard
Instead of getting together as a group, we use a simple scorecard to track key performance indicators bi-weekly. This gives us insight into areas of the business we need to focus on, pivot, or troubleshoot. I have done a scorecard for almost 5 years and taught my clients the same.
KPIs that are important for my agency’s CEO Dashboard fall in 3 buckets:
Growth
Traffic-to-leads ratio, leads generated, demos completed, and close rate.
I went viral-ish on threads twice this week, and have about $10K of leads in the pipeline. But now the real test is how well we nurture and close those leads. (I’ll dive deeper in another post after the leads complete our funnel.)
Subscription Health
Time is literally money when you run an agency, so I review gross margins, retention rate, and monthly recurring revenue. If these are slipping, that means I need to investigate Client Delivery metrics and see what’s going on.
Client Delivery
Staff turnaround time, feedback ratings from clients, revision rate, and staff capacity.
If we don’t nail delivery, subscription health and growth suffer. There is NO better marketing than word of mouth - and that happens by being laser focused on excellence.
I’m obsessed with metrics, and this is where I spend a lot of my time. Client delivery is the operating system that allows us to retain clients and also get rave reviews. (like we did from the incredible Jasmine Womack, less than 2 weeks into her subscription.)
Eliminate calls from client deliverables.
Our marketing agency operates almost completely asynchronously. No weekly touch bases needed. Clients receive deliverables nearly every other day and know the deadline of their next deliverable before they submit their request. We use tools like Loom and our custom client portal to communicate around the clock and maintain effectiveness.
My Asynchronous Revelation
Most meetings occur for two reasons: to move a project along or brain dump “updates.” They could have easily been emails.
As a consumer of coaching programs, I was so annoyed waiting all week to get one question answered. And then, sitting through a bunch of people’s questions just so I could get 5 minutes of coaching was a form of hell for me.
The solution? Bring the asynchronous communication that is common in the tech world to the online space.
In 2019, I launched my First Funnel Accelerator, a done-with-you offer where clients received video feedback within 48 hours instead of group calls. It was a game-changer. I could provide personalized feedback on-demand while giving both parties time freedom.
This became the foundation for how I structured my agency.
I've been on a mission to transform how we work. I'm here for those in their execution and delegation era—for people who hate small talk and feel exhausted after days of back-to-back meetings.
By partnering with us, you'll:
Dramatically reduce meeting times
Stop having to be the marketing brain in your business
Get high-quality marketing work done quickly
Experience async but transparent task management
Enjoy strategic touchpoints as necessary
Maximize output with minimal input
You were promised a spacious calendar without meetings, but instead, that space was cannibalized by marketing tasks. Let’s change that.
This Black Friday, I'm offering you your time back. Get marketing support you don't need to micromanage and give feedback without constant interruptions.
Reclaim your calendar.
Click here to learn more about our asynchronous marketing subscription and how we can help you maximize your time.
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