#5 of Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Selling Results… Now!

#5 – Don’t Become Caught in the Time Management Trap

Have you ever felt like there wasn’t enough time to get everything done?  Actually, you have all the time there is.  The challenge is to determine exactly what you want to “get done” and by when.  Committing to a daily plan of activity is paramount to your long-term success as well as your mental and physical well being.  Make sure you understand the difference between “pay-time” activities – those directly related to or part of the selling process – and “non-pay-time” activities – those not an integral part of the selling process.

Pay-time activities include:

• Prospecting – telephone cold calls, walk-ins, Executive Briefings, lead generation/direct mail follow-up calls, etc.
• Meeting with prospects.
• Working with clients (and obtaining referrals).
• Networking – generating referrals (not socializing over the hors d’oeuvres).

Non-pay-time activities include:

• Administrative activities
• Paper work
• Accounting activities
• Studying training materials, listening to tapes
• “Working” on the computer
• Planning your day
• Making a presentation without an agreement in advance as to the specific yes/no decision to be made at the end
• Continuing to phone people who won’t take your calls
• Leaving messages for people who haven’t returned your previous calls

Plan your day the night before.  Don’t waste prime selling hours organizing your calendar and schedule.  Prioritize your activities.  Schedule high priority items first.  Only schedule those activities you know you will have time for.  Over-commitment is only a shortcut to failure.  It’s better to have two activities completed than four half finished.

Schedule time for those unpredictable problems that crop up from time to time.  Set aside some time before lunch or at the end of the day to deal with problems.  This is a better strategy than dropping everything you are doing at the time to deal with them.

Keep a log of your activities, hour by hour, for a few days.  Compare your activities log to your schedule.  The comparison may be “eye-opening”.  It will help pin-point areas for improvement.

Reserve some review-preview time at the end of the day on Friday.  Review what you have accomplished for the week.  Plan, not only Monday’s schedule, but an overview of the following week.  It doesn’t have to be a detailed schedule, only a “big picture” description of the week to come.

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