The most valuable asset any salesperson has is their time. It’s not what they sell or the customers they sell to; it’s their time. How we use our time is what will make a much bigger impact on our success than nearly anything else.
Below are 10 things you must be doing to help save your most precious resource:
1. Never end the day without knowing specifically what you will do tomorrow.
2. Before deciding to do anything, ask yourself if you’re the one that needs to do it or if there is someone else who should do it.
3. Allocate time to each activity to help compress the amount of time you spend on each activity.
4. Maintain in your computer standard responses to emails you can use to respond to things faster.
5. Unsubscribe from all email lists except those you deem important.
6. Set up folders in your email for low-priority emails to be placed and allocate 20 minutes a week to read and handle them.
7. When you’re focused on emails, be focused with the sole intention of getting rid of them rather than being indecisive, feeling you need to think about it before getting back to it later.
8. Avoid phone calls with people who take up too much of your time. If you have to communicate with them, use voicemail.
9. Make the first part of your day when you focus on the most important activity of the day, with the intention of doing it the best you can.
10. Use a CRM system. Don’t kid yourself thinking you can remember everything.
Let’s not forget that the list does not end with 10.
There are hundreds more things we can all do to increase our productivity, and knowing that is probably the most important thing of all. Failing to realize we must be continually monitoring how we use our time and finding ways to improve is what separates the average salespeople from the top performers.
The top performer knows they can always improve, and they never stop challenging themselves to find better solutions.
Copyright 2016, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
One Response
A great self guiding question I’ve found helpful when determining priorities is: “Is what I’m dong what I HAVE to do do or what I SHOULD do.” So in sales…are you prospecting new business or engaged in post sales admin work. Great stuff Mark!