Here’s How To Have A Better Boardroom Experience

Learning from a Brand Development and Marketing Superstar

Clever, inventive, and friendly, Terry was one of my favourite bosses early in my brand development and marketing management career, and he is now the Executive Vice Pres of Marketing at one of America’s best-known sit-down restaurant chains.

Today I’ll share one of Terry’s brilliantly easy success secrets with you.

How to Survive- – and Thrive- By Working Through More Effective Boardroom Meetings

Years back, Terry & I worked together on a $400-million dollar frozen-food brand, and we ran all facets of the business, from volume forecasting, financials, quality assurance and new product development to sales/trade coordination and advertising/promotion strategies.

Running a brand that rings up half a billion dollars in sales annually meant quarterly business meetings with our company’s President & SVPs. It was early in my brand development and marketing career, so my participation in these meetings was limited- – but as a director, Terry was “front and center.”

Let me inform you: these meetings were rough. They were supposed to be targeted on a few standard business measures, but in reality, anything and everything was fair game. You want pressure? Try having the senior management team of the business that markets some of the country’s biggest frozen-foods mega-brands demanding an answer to a totally random inquiry right here, right NOW, at their “I love the scent of napalm in the morning” finest.

No problem! Terry refused to depend on his memory, wing it, or hope and pray for the best. He used his “brand Bible”, a massive 3-ring binder with tabbed sections that allowed him rapidly flip to the information he needed. Seeing how we worked in brand management, his tabs included IRI/Nielsen sales reports, this year’s business plan, current marketing forecasts, media plans, new product timelines, monthly customer service reports, key market research findings, the company phone list, and a fresh print-out of his calendar for the following one or two months.

Terry’s “brand Bible” was always prepared for action since he had the discipline to update it daily. As a result, he never had to stress about searching for an answer; he could focus his attention on providing a thoughtful & informed point of view. He could just be Terry, and as his career affirms, that’s an impressive move indeed.

Don’t Wait! Get ready for Better Boardroom Meetings Beginning Today

What info do you need to do your job effectively? Is it ready for you when you need it most? With just a shade of extra discipline, you can definitely have a considerably more impactful boardroom meeting too. This is a success secret that some of America’s top marketing executives have put into action, and so can you!

Marie Elwood runs an Atlanta marketing consulting company, Increased Results, that is quickly becoming one of America’s top strategic marketing consulting firms.