We’re all familiar with the old saying “time is money”. There is no one to whom this is more true than the commissioned salesperson. We need to judiciously split our time between prospects, customers, and the myriad of other activities that are required of us on a daily basis. Spend your time on the right one and you could have a record month, spend too much time on another and you might be looking for another line of work.
Time management is one of the most important skills that successful salespeople have to master. Time is a finite commodity, only 40 hours in a week and we always have several things competing for our attention. How do we prioritize and make the most of these 40 hours? Short of working longer hours, here are a few time management tips to help out.
1) Be ready to Pivot.
How many times have you driven up to a fire station for a sales call just as the engine pulled out on a call? It happens to all of us, all the time. Whether they are out of quarters or you get stood up, be prepared to move on to another profitable task. Make another call, don’t sit in their parking lot hoping they’ll be back soon.
2) Multitasking is a Myth.
Many people think that they can accomplish more by working on multiple tasks at the same time, but studies show that this is just not true. “Multitasking” is just shifting back and forth between tasks and it dilutes your focus and slows you down as your brain is forced to switch between the tasks. Pick one thing and complete it. Different tasks call for engage different parts of our brains. Writing a presentation calls for different skills than completing your expense report.
3) Bon Apétit
Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worse things that is going to happen to you all day long. Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. We all have one task that we can’t stand; entering info into the CRM, cold-calling, follow up emails, etc. I know what mine is. Do you know yours?
These are just a few ways that you can make the most out of your time and hopefully, the most out of your commission check.