In the world of business, no matter how successful one becomes, time is one thing that there is not enough of.
The majority of successful salespeople that I know and have worked with practice disciplined time management by spending the majority of their time on tasks that make them money and little time on things that are a waste of time.
In the field of sales, there is not enough time in the day to complete all the work that needs to be done and as a result, time management can be one of the keys to producing consistent results.
There are a few very clear and practical tactics that you can deploy to not only improve productivity, but to also help to decrease stress at the same time.
Here are a 11 tips that will help you to get a better picture of how you’ll have to manage your time in order to be successful in the world of sales.
- Plan your day before you leave your office or before you hit the sack.
- Block out the time from 8:00 AM through 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM through 5:00 PM to call prospective customers.
- You won’t waste your time when cold calling on Thursday.
- Don’t let anyone or anything distract you from these time tables.
- Have a plan “B” then return to plan “A” as soon as possible.
- Avoid the water cooler. That’s what Happy Hour is for.
- Learn to say “No”, don’t over commit, and outsource when you can.
- If you must take a call during your sales time, limit it to two-minutes max.
- Check and send emails before 9:00 AM, between Noon and 1:00 PM, and after 5:00 PM.
- Write your To-do list on a pad of paper and prioritize your list down to the five most important tasks needed to be completed. Find a software program as an alternative.
- Reevaluate your time management system regularly.
By applying the time management tips and skills in this chapter you can optimize your efforts to ensure that you concentrate as much of your time and energy as possible on the high payoff tasks. This ensures that you achieve the greatest benefit possible with the limited amount of time available to you.