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Watch Your Time Management
Time is money. This adage is very apt in the life of a professional salesperson.
There are many tasks required of a professional, but there are only 24 hours in a day to accomplish them. An effective use of the available time will allow you to budget enough time to consistently work toward your goal. An added bonus will be a positive impact to your social life.
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TOP SHELF TIP NO. 8
"Each moment in time we have it all, even when we think we don't."
Melody Beattie, American writer | |
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There are five parts to managing time effectively for a salesperson: prospecting, selling, service, personal and study.
Prospecting. I can hear the groans already. Prospecting may not be the most enjoyable activity for most salespeople: "I can sell. I just don't like the prospecting part of it," say some salespeople.
The undeniable fact is if you don't prospect, you won't have any people to sell to. You should make it a habit to set aside time in every day's activities for prospecting. Set a goal for yourself of how many cold calls you make in a day.
Selling. Be aware of the "Golden Hours" of selling. These are the times in your work day you are most successful at contacting and meeting with prospects.
Never use your "golden hours" for less productive activities such as paperwork. Do it when it is not possible to meet with prospects.
In order to more properly identify when it is most effective for your sales calls, write down three questions: How much of my day is spent selling? When are my most productive hours to sell? What changes can I make that will allow me to spend more time each day selling?
Service. The golden rule in selling is if you keep your customers happy, they will recommend their friends and keep coming back time after time. If you don't forget your customers, they won't forget you.
Always look at the long term. Do not treat sales as one-time deals. Even if you spend 10 minutes in a day on service, you will see surprising and satisfying results.
A fair number of salespeople forget this small but very important step. A good strategy is to immediately schedule this step as soon as you make the sale. Remind yourself of the details of the sale while the event is still fresh in your mind.
Happy customers provide referrals, which make your prospecting job easier. It's a true win-win situation.
Personal. The personal side of selling is finding the time for yourself and your loved ones. You need to find time off from work to relax and recharge your batteries.
Some salespeople find it difficult to relax when they know how much has to be done and the limited time to accomplish it all. They feel guilty to be away from the job, and personal interests and friends only play second fiddle.
Study. In our rapidly changing world, school is never out for the professional. It would be prudent to set aside 15 minutes every day to read trade journals and specialized books. By keeping up with current events, you can be a well-informed professional who can converse intelligently about the industry with your clients.
Source: Roy Chitwood is an author, trainer and consultant in sales and sales management and is president of Max Sacks International, Seattle. | |
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Copyright 2005-2007 Promotional Consultant Today. All Rights Reserved. |
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