Start Every Meeting With This Question

Unlock clarity, ownership, and real pipeline movement.

Author

Sales Systems
June 14, 2025

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Start Every Meeting With This Question

Unlock clarity, ownership, and real pipeline movement.

If your sales meetings feel like a time sink, here’s a simple fix that elite managers swear by: start every meeting with one powerful question. This isn’t about small talk or status updates. It’s about sparking clarity and accountability from the get-go.

That question? “What is the one biggest obstacle standing between you and closing your top deal this week?”

Why this works: It shifts focus immediately to what matters most. Reps stop hiding behind surface-level answers and start owning their challenges. You get real insight, and suddenly the meeting is about solving problems instead of just talking about them.

When every rep answers this question out loud, you create a culture of transparency and urgency. The whole team gets aligned on where attention is needed, and you can allocate coaching time efficiently. This small change drives massive pipeline movement, turning meetings from routine to results.

Action Steps to Try Today

  1. Open your next sales meeting with the question: “What is the one biggest obstacle standing between you and closing your top deal this week?”

  2. Listen actively to each answer and encourage honest, specific responses.

  3. Prioritize coaching on these obstacles during the meeting. Don’t just note them, solve them.

  4. Follow up after the meeting to hold reps accountable for progress.

  5. Make this question a ritual every meeting until pipeline movement becomes routine.

Try this in your next meeting and watch the difference. Your team will thank you and so will your forecast.