Consult Carson 7/8: “I’m buried in my sales tasks. How do I manage my time?”
From today’s mailbag: “I’m literally buried in my various sales tasks. How do I effectively manage my time?”
Carson: Starting out in sales, this is basically our dream, right? Seriously, it’s like we oversee many different oil rigs – none of which show immediate or quick results. However, after nurturing each different pocket of our business, generating leads from various sources, developing pipeline, perfecting our pitch and growing relationships with prospects, one or multiple of these fields is going to strike oil. And, from time to time, if we’re really skilled, they will gush and we face potentially drowning in the newfound success.
Time management is so important, no matter what phase of your sales process you are in. Starting out, it’s all about differentiating your different prospecting methods, selectively choosing which networking methods you will employ and meeting with people in the right industries and geographies. Frankly, it’s all about balance; some people just chase whales and never land anything. Others catch too many minnows and starve. There is a happy medium to each facet of managing your time.
On the other end of the spectrum, a seasoned seller has established a book of business, manages existing relationships to keep clients happy but also wants to ensure a steady stream of new business. I’ve seen business models that depend on 20% of their customers to deliver 80% of their business and as soon as competition undercut them, they lost those large spenders and their business was cooked. You will win with breadth of customers and well distributed influx of revenue.
So, utilize that concept and philosophy when divvying up your time.
(1) Prioritize. Do you have an existing spender needing some TLC? Do you have a current customer who has placed an order, has a problem you can provide a solution to, or can provide referrals by good word of mouth (a.k.a. the best marketing tactic)? Prioritize by real customers and real revenue – they should always come first.
(2) Looking for new ways to expound upon existing client relationships. Keep your customers happy by continuing to find new ways to provide return on investment. Check in often. Did a customer stop spending money with you? Touch base and find out what happened; often, you can right the ship and re-earn their business if you find out where something went wrong. They spent money before; they at least believed at some point, so you can rekindle the flame.
(3) Find ways to maximize quality and quantity of touches. You’ll have many prospects that are just quick conversations at a networking event. You’ll have some you don’t talk to very often, and you may have those whom you’ve pitched but haven’t heard from. Find ways to stay top of mind; interact with their social media posts, send out a newsletter and invite them to things of interest or send them articles that may be of interest. Marketing dictates that 5+ quality touches greatly enhance the chance of purchase – don’t just send them a crappy, impersonal note, but create things of relevance or drop them a focused line which adds value. Doing this as often (without inundating) and as excellently as possible will be yet another item to increase probability of a lucrative relationship for both parties.
(4) Accept that you cannot get literally everything accomplished in a day that you want to. Complete what you know you must. Skim your e-mail and handle those of utmost importance first; then go back and continue doing the same until they are manageable. Follow the same principle with reports or other tasks; you’ve got to start from somewhere and you have to check items off the proverbial (or real) list.
(5) Look for support. You don’t have to be Superman/Supergirl. Or Batgirl, or Iron Man, or whomever’s your preference. Your supervisor, peers and subordinates – those who make up your team – can be your support structure. Often, they are very much there specifically for those purposes. If it truly becomes too much, reach out to a peer and find out how they are managing the work. Steal best practices shamelessly. Ask your supervisor for ideas, advice or the potential for having someone help out. If you have a team who works for you, pick some worthy candidates who want to move up and develop some projects with the guidance of your boss. No matter what, it’s very likely you’re not all alone and you can all be more productive and add more value if there is teamwork involved.
Time management really comes down to prioritization of work, customers and outreach. Find ways to integrate all of your priorities into your plan. Make a list of activities in a prioritized fashion and revisit it often! Reminding yourself how you should view and tackle your tasks can go a long way to getting you closer and closer to time optimization.
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Carson V. Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving. You will also be directly contributing to his third book, “A Salesman Forever.”
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” that has a unique spin that shows you proven sales principles designed to birth in you the top producer you were born to be.
If you would like to strengthen your sales skills, go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICRVMI2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_yGXKtb0G28TWF
