When I was a sales manager, there was one day I dreaded more than any other: One-on-One day.

It wasn’t because I didn’t care about my team. Quite the opposite. I wanted my Account Executives to feel supported and aligned with our goals. I wanted to help them grow. But week after week, One-on-Ones felt clunky and unproductive. I’d be at my desk, an AE would walk in, and we’d begin, almost every time, with the same five dreaded words:

“So, what do you have for me today?”

That phrase has become one of the most hated in my vocabulary. Not just because I used to say it, but because I still hear it today. In my current role consulting sales teams, I sit in on a lot of One-on-Ones. And I can confidently say over half of them still start this way.

The Cost of Unstructured Meetings

Early in my leadership journey, these meetings were frustratingly disorganized. I didn’t know what was coming. My sellers weren’t always prepared. We’d waste the first 10 minutes just trying to figure out what to talk about. Eventually, I got better, I built a system of sorts. I started tracking notes, preparing talking points, reviewing numbers in advance, sending follow-up emails afterward.

It helped, sure. But it was also exhausting.

That system worked… but it cost me an entire workday every week.
With 8 sellers, my One-on-Ones monopolized 8+ hours between prep, meetings, and follow-ups. I was spending 10% of my workweek just trying to stay organized for a process that still felt inefficient.

Building a Better Way at ShareBuilders

Fast forward to today. At ShareBuilders, I’ve had the privilege of working with our product team to design a better solution—something I wish I’d had when I was in the manager’s seat.

We built a dedicated One-on-One page in our CRM that completely reimagines how these meetings can work.

Here’s what we included:

• A shared agenda where both the manager and AE can add talking points throughout the week

• Archived meeting notes that make follow-up and coaching consistent and trackable

• A direct view into the AE’s book of business—just how they see it—so you can coach from their perspective

• No more scattered spreadsheets or prep emails; everything you need is right in the tool

What’s the Result?

With just a little discipline and structure, managers are running One-on-Ones that are:

✅ Twice as effective
✅ Half the time
✅ With almost zero prep or follow-up work

This means better conversations, stronger coaching, and, yes, more time back in your week. Realistically, you could reclaim 4–6 hours per week, depending on the size of your team.

Imagine What You Could Do with That Time

Review pacing. Spend more time in the field. Coach in real-time. Or, heck, maybe just take a lunch break.

If you’re managing a team and feeling the drag of your current One-on-One process, let’s talk. We’ve been there, and we built this tool for exactly that reason.