Do you shudder when you peek at your calendar on Sunday evening? Does your schedule resemble Tetris with tightly packed blocks— often overlapping?

You’re not alone. My calendar looks like that too. And so does every CMO’s calendar.

In fact, meetings are up nearly 200% up across the board—people are in 3 times more Microsoft Teams meetings since February 2020, a 192% increase, according to a May report from CNBC.

Chief marketing officers are not just juggling back-to-back meetings. They’re managing boards, chief financial officers, CEOs and outside agencies. They’re trying to extract the maximum ROI from every dollar (and every minute) spent. Not to mention, many are the CEOs of their families at home.

In the fast-paced world of CMOs, time is a precious resource.  To put it simply, every moment counts for these powerhouse leaders.

So before you send your next calendar request to a CMO, consider these tips:

Make sure you actually need a meeting

No really. Give it serious thought. People are spending an average of 18 hours (18 hours!) of their week in meetings; only nearly 12 hours of which they feel are actually necessary, according to research published by Otter.ai.

Before you reach out to a CMO, ask yourself, does this meeting make the 12-hour cut? Can someone else on their team answer this question or provide this insight? Can it be handled over email?

If you can delegate the request to someone else on the team, do it. Filter your interactions to ensure those with the CMO maximize their business impact.

Skip the preamble

CMOs are a quick read. Don’t get hung up on the pleasantries.

The first 20% of most presentations is superfluous and everyone knows the real meat of the conversation comes at the end. So, imagine a world where you start with the last slide.

For your next meeting, get straight to the point; Focus on the core of your ask or discussion.

Leverage pre-reads

Seems obvious right? It’s not happening.

CMOs don’t need you to read slides to them during the time they set aside to meet with you. Whether you’re on the giving or receiving end, make reviewing the materials ahead of time a priority. And make sure your deck stands on its own.

And, yes, you need to provide materials at least 12 hours in advance. Sending through slides five minutes before the meeting doesn’t provide anyone enough time to review.

Focus on the agenda … not the deck.

Inefficient meetings are the No. 1 biggest workplace distractor (and stressor).  Don’t be a part of the problem with voluminous materials and meandering talking points.

Too many people use their deck as their outline for the meeting, planning what they’ll say slide-by-slide. What if instead you prepared around a tight agenda?

Focus more on coming up with a smart, pithy POV and less on delivering a flashy deck.

Beat the five-minute rule

Just because you’ve blocked 30 minutes, doesn’t mean you have to use it.

We all know the rule is to end five minutes early. But what if you could get to the point and give 15 minutes back?

CMOs are in constant motion and will appreciate it if you give unused time at the end of a meeting back to them. And in the case of time, more is more.

Caught up in our own demanding schedules, many of us forget about these small courtesies when interacting with busy CMOs.

In doing so, we’re not only adding more to an already full plate, we’re also missing a chance to stand out as someone who’s prepared, efficient and respectful of their time. 

Katie Klumper will speak at Ad Age’s Business of Brands event, taking place on Nov. 8 and 9 in New York. Find out more about the event here.