How to run a ten-minute sales huddle from yesterday’s calls

The example uses our distributor sample: Halverson Pipe & Supply, a fictional plumbing distributor in Columbus with three inside sales reps, Dana, Marcus and Tessa. The company, people and numbers are invented.

Before anyone walks in

The manager reads yesterday’s numbers and calls before the huddle, picks what to bring up and leaves the rest. Ten minutes is plenty when that reading is done ahead of time. When the team has to work out together what happened yesterday, the same meeting takes half an hour and ends without anyone knowing who to call.

Minutes one and two: the day in three lines

Read three numbers aloud and compare each one with the same weekday last week, which evens out the weekly rhythm of a counter business:

	Yesterday	vs same day last week
Inside sales	$48,630	-$3,480
Inbound calls answered	55 of 61	6 missed
Orders from phone customers	37

If nothing is unusual, say so and move on. A normal day doesn’t need discussion, and the time is better spent on the deals below.

Minutes three to six: the money at risk, with names

This is the main part of the huddle. Go through each deal at risk with the rep who owns it, and agree on one next step with a time attached:

• Marcus, Hartley Residential, about $18,360. Comparing our 30-unit tankless quote with a second bid and wants venting kits included. Revised quote with venting kits out by Wednesday noon.
• Tessa, Ortiz Plumbing, $5,600. Card declined twice on a 14-heater school order, and the owner is calling his bank. Send a pay link at 10 AM.

Say the next step out loud and write down the time. Tomorrow’s huddle starts by checking whether it happened.

Minutes seven and eight: what customers said

Pick one or two things more than one customer mentioned, and read a line in the customer’s own words:

"If you can’t get me the kit by Friday I have to find it somewhere else."

Three contractors asked for 1-inch RPZ repair kits that are out of stock until November 9. One bought elsewhere. Dalton Fire & Water and A-1 Drain agreed to wait if someone confirms the ship date in writing, so that becomes a task for this morning.

The second theme was tankless heaters: two apartment jobs asked for them on the same day, and neither quote included venting kits. Everyone on the phones should know, because the next caller may ask the same question.

Minutes nine and ten: everyone leaves with a call

Each rep says the first call they will make. From the sample morning:

• Marcus calls Hartley Residential about the venting kits.
• Tessa sends the combined quote to Pell & Sons Plumbing and the pay link to Ortiz Plumbing.
• Dana calls Lakeview Senior Residences to book a walkthrough on 40 shower valves before their December budget is set.

What to leave out

• Call counts by rep. They start arguments about who made more calls and rarely change what anyone does that morning. Look at them weekly instead, next to quotes and orders.
• Long discussion of one deal. If a deal needs more than two minutes, the manager and the rep take it after the huddle.
• Anything that needs a spreadsheet opened in the room. If the number isn’t on the page before the huddle starts, it waits for the weekly meeting.

Getting the page ready each morning

Without software, have each rep fill in the follow-up section of our free sales call report template at the end of the day, and read the three numbers from the phone system and the order system first thing. Our guide to inside sales metrics covers which numbers belong in the daily view and which in the weekly one.

Morning Tally writes the page this huddle runs from: every business-day morning it reads yesterday’s calls, matches them to orders in your ERP or CRM, and emails one page with the deals at risk, what customers said and who to call first. The full distributor sample is the page used in this example.

Common questions

What time should the huddle be?

Right before the phones open, or as soon as the first rush passes. Pick one time and keep it, so reps plan their first calls around it.

Should reps see the report before the huddle?

Yes, if it’s one page. Each rep can read their own follow-ups first and come in with questions.

What if nothing is at risk?

Say so in one sentence and spend the time on what customers said. A quiet day is a good day to fix whatever came up more than once.