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The
Overwhelmed Sales Rep
Seven Tips to getting more done in less time
If you’re in sales, then I know
for a fact that there is too much for you to do
in the hours available in any given day. We just
have too much to do and there’s not enough time.
We have cold calling, follow up activities,
customer meetings, proposal and quote
preparation, lead generation, and lots more. As
a result, your desk may be filled with Post-It
notes, files, lists and other paperwork needed
to do your job. On top of that, you have the
ever-present unwelcome visitors popping into
your office, and that darn phone just won’t stop
ringing. It’s enough to make you want to take a
long walk off a short pier.
When I work with sales people who are
overwhelmed with too much to do, I tell then not
to fret because there are a number of tips they
can deploy that will help organize their lives
and minimize their activities. These tips will
work for you as well. However, I must warn you
that these tips can take an effort on your part
to actually implement and use. However, if you
don’t take that proverbial one step backward,
then you’ll never be able to take the two steps
forward to propel you into a successful sales
career. So be patient and accept the fact that
these tips will help only if you make a
concerted effort to try them out. They work for
many of my clients.
1. Use Technology. If you haven’t
purchased a contact manager, sales force
automation (SFA) system, or Customer
Relationship Manager (CRM) product by now, it’s
time. For under $200 per user (for individuals
as well as organizations and businesses),
products such as GoldMine, Act, and even Outlook
(although I wouldn’t consider this falling into
any one of these categories, but it’s better
than nothing) can organize your calendar,
to-do’s, appointments, activities,
customer/prospect information, and lots more.
You’ll make a small investment for the purchase
of these products, but you’ll make an even
larger one learning to use them effectively. Yet
it will be well worth it when you think of the
time it will save you (and your organization),
as well as increase your ability to follow up
with your clients.
Consider how much revenue you could lose from a
lost sale by not following up with a prospect –
you dropped the ball because the Post-It Note
fell behind your desk and you didn’t remember to
call her when she asked you to, when she was
ready to buy. Consider how much is at risk in
future revenue when losing an existing customer
to your competitor – you never followed up after
the sale to continue your relationship and she
went to your competitor when she was ready to
upgrade. Now consider the cost to purchase and
learn these tools and you will see that this is
really a valuable investment and not a cost at
all. However, no automation tool will help you
if you aren’t organized to begin with. So pay
heed to the following tips as well.
2. Prioritize Your Tasks. It’s easy for
people to work on whatever it is that’s in front
of them or to take the next task and start
working on it without any thought as to how
important it is relative to the other tasks
staring them in the face. Get in the habit of
prioritizing your tasks. There are always things
we do that are either more or less important
than other tasks. Recognize a tasks’ relevance
and understand how important it is. Is it due
right away or can it wait a while? If you spend
the time doing it now, will something else
suffer that needs attention right away? Once you
do this for all your tasks, they will be in a
prioritized order. Then, for each task, work on
the most important ones first. Alternatively,
you can delegate it to someone else. Don’t just
irresponsibly drop it in someone else’s lap.
Assign it to someone who can handle it properly,
perhaps has more time, or is in a position to
work on less critical tasks while you focus on
the more important ones ( i.e., a junior staff
member). Finally, if a task is on the bottom of
your priority list, consider dumping it all
together. Chances are, if it never gets done at
all no one may even notice or care, which proves
that it was not important to begin with.
Remember: Do It, Delegate It, or Dump It!
3. Time Management. I see sales people
floundering by trying to juggle everything at
once. They physically cannot multi-task
efficiently or effectively and do a good job of
accomplishing anything with any sense of
quality. They end up doing a lousy job on many
things instead of a good job on a few things.
They might as well not do anything at all – the
results will be the same. What they need is a
lesson in time management. Set aside specific
times of the day or evening to perform specific
tasks; such as returning phone calls, managing
emails, handling your billing and accounting,
marketing, reading, and more. Using your
prioritized list from the previous step, do
similar tasks during dedicated times to optimize
your energies and resources. Need to learn more?
Buy a book on time management (“The One Minute
Manager” by Ken Blanchard) and set aside a
couple hours one evening to read it.
4. Avoid Interruptions. Having an open
door policy is an admirable goal. Always trying
to be available to people (clients, colleagues,
subordinates, etc) is an equally commendable
trait. However, when these selfless acts affect
your ability to get your job done, it’s time to
reconsider. Try turning off your phone (or the
ringer) while you are working on a project. This
will prevent you from stopping what you are
doing to answer the phone all the time
(Remember, using good time management, if you
set aside a time period during the day to return
calls, then you’ll be able to efficiently handle
all the messages you’ll get while the ringer was
off). Stop checking your email every five
minutes. Again, set aside a specific time of day
to handle emails. Close your door to keep people
from “popping” in to chat about nonsense (save
those discussions for the coffee room). Work
off-site by telecommuting from home or even
working from a clients’ office after your
meeting, if they have space for you and it won’t
be awkward (“Do you mind if I use your open
conference room for a few moments before I leave
to do some paperwork? I won’t be in your way; I
just need some quiet space.”)
5. Optimize Your Voice Message. Make sure
you have a good voice mail system that not only
takes accurate and clear messages, but also
allows you to give a quick description of your
services, even suggesting they check out your
web site before leaving a message. This will
help them use alternative means of finding out
what you have to offer. Web sites are like
stores, so give them a chance to shop around and
read about your business. This way, when they do
speak with you on the phone, they’ll already
know the basics of your business, products and
services. Using a web site to provide
preliminary information is a form of delegating
some of what you do. Hence, you should advertise
and promote your web site often and frequently.
Most importantly, make sure you do return all
phone calls in a timely manner.
6. Outsource Your Phone Service. Consider
using an outside service to take your calls.
These services act as your own “virtual”
receptionist (without the benefits or sick days)
and can even give a brief description of your
company. This is another form of delegation, but
it comes at a cost (or is it an investment?). To
find companies who perform this service, Google
“business answering service”.
7. Don’t Be Everything to Everyone. There
is only so much you can do, so walk away from
business and customers that are not profitable,
take away from more important clients and
projects, or just waste your time. Prioritize
your customers (like your tasks) and you will
get back some valuable free time by not wasting
time on non-revenue generating prospects or
customers who have no intention of ever buying
from you again (or their purchases are not
profitable anyway).
If you printed out this article and read it
off-hours or during time that you dedicated to
doing research or education, congratulations.
However, if you stopped what you were doing to
read this, then you need to use these tips to
get more done in less time. I hope this helps.
Good
luck and good selling!
Russ Lombardo
PEAK
Sales Consulting
russ@peaksalesconsulting.com
(702)
655-5652
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