Trying to stay organized is never easy, especially for salespeople who are making it happen. It’s easy to get caught up helping customers or chasing after the latest opportunity. Both of these are perfectly fine activities, but at the same time, before you know it, your day is gone. You’re stuck looking back on the day wondering why you weren’t able to accomplish what you originally set out to do. And your sales motivation starts to take a hit.
Here are a few tips to help you stay organized and, more importantly, motivated:
TIP #1: Schedule your day to allow time to deal with those things for which you can’t plan. You know everyday you’re going to get phone calls, emails, etc. that you weren’t planning on. Allocate two to three blocks of time each day to deal with these. Schedule 30 minutes for each block, and when an email comes through that isn’t absolutely pressing, then put it off until your next block of time.
The reason to contain these all into 2-3 blocks per day is simple. It will save you more time than you can imagine. Our problem is the short email we respond to doesn’t just take the one minute we initially think it will take. It takes up 4 -5 minutes by the time we read it, respond to it and then eventually get back on track with what we were doing beforehand. All you have to do is put off 7 – 8 of these a day, and you’ll save nearly 30 minutes of time each day. And that’s even after taking the time to respond to the messages in your pre-designated time slots.
Tip #2: Take 10 minutes at the end of each day and make a list of the phone calls you want to return the next day. Having the list of names ready will allow you to take advantage of the couple extra minutes of time that will pop up at random times throughout the day. Just being able to do a better job of getting phone calls returned will allow you to feel much more comfortable about yourself and the job you’re doing.
Tip #3: Eliminate the negative voices you hear throughout the day. It might be talk radio, it could be a website you visit, it could be the television in your office. Turn them off. It’s amazing how unfocused noise can create a huge distraction to your mind and your level of concentration and motivation. Replace the talk radio you listen to in your car or the television in your office with music that makes you feel pumped.
Tip #4: Make sure you record your customer information as you get it. Don’t wait until the end of the week to update your CRM and don’t even wait until the end of the day. Keep your CRM system open and ready all day long. As you interact with customers, be sure to capture the information right away. If you wait, you will forget at least 20% of the information. You may think you have a good memory, but you’re bound to forget something that will sooner or later cost you a sale.
Final Tip: Be proud of the job you’re doing and the positive impact you’re making on those you meet. Nothing is more important than being able to positively influence those we meet. For me, this isis the real reason to be in sales.
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
