Do you want to prospect more, but you’re just waiting for “more time” in your schedule?
You’ll never “find” more time.
Get over it! Extra time is not going to suddenly fall into your lap.
If you want extra time, you’ve got to get rid of something. Many times the “something” you have to get rid of is the mindset you don’t have time to prospect.
Prospecting is an activity that too many times gets pushed aside in favor of other things. The best way to prevent this is by scheduling hard time to prospect.
Put it on your schedule and treat it with respect that you’re not going to allow something else to get in the way.
The best way to do this, of course, is to schedule time each day specifically for prospecting. For some salespeople, a better approach might be to schedule dedicated time 1 or 2 times per week.
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it — at least once a week. I believe it has to be at least once a week to keep you in the groove of prospecting.
The actual time period you schedule to prospect is going to vary by salesperson based on a number of variables. The timeframe I strongly recommend to salespeople is to block time twice a day starting with first thing in the morning. Make prospecting the first activity you do. Then do it and don’t allow other stuff to crowd it out. The other time I like each day is immediately after lunch. Again, it allows you to get it done before you get caught up in everything else.
One key item to remember is the time you set aside for prospecting is for that only — prospecting.
This means actively contacting prospects.
It does not mean to use your prospecting time to do research or prepare to make calls. If you allow those activities to be done during your scheduled prospecting time, you’ll never make the calls.
Do your research and your preparation during other times of the day. I prefer to do it at the end of the day. The reason I like this is because it allows me to have everything laid out, and when the next day begins, I can jump right into actively prospecting.
Sure, I could give you any number of other time-saving tips to open up time in your day, but I doubt you would actually use the “found” time for prospecting unless it was on the schedule.
Over the years, in my own experience and in talking with countless salespeople, I’ve found that very little time will be spent prospecting unless it’s blocked out on the calendar.
When you block it out on the calendar and you follow your calendar, it is amazing how you’ll find time you didn’t think was available for prospecting is now available.
Copyright 2011, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
