Article Contributed by David Lynch
I’m always looking for ways to improve productivity in selling because I know that it’s what makes the difference in the long-term. Productivity measuring makes more sense when you actually break down your working hours, days and months into some kind of programme where you can monitor progress over a period of time. If you put sticky notes on your wall instead of putting information into your desktop calendar, you won’t realistically notice if this creates beneficial results after just one day of trying, will you?
Make a to Do List
Just get a notebook and write down a list of 10 to do’s at the beginning of each day. Make sure that you write them out in order of importance and cross them off the list as you complete them. Don’t do the easier tasks first as this could create problems later in the day. People by nature tend to leave the uglier tasks to the last if they are given the choice and I couldn’t see myself making 20 cold calls in the last 45 minutes of the day. The most difficult tasks normally require more energy and drive and this is usually much stronger in the earlier part of the day.
Set Mini Goals
Setting mini goals each day is a great way of being more productive in selling. There’s nothing worse than setting goals that you will never achieve. Not only is this very disheartening, but it stops you from continuing the highly successful habit of goal setting. Remember the golden rule here is set mini goals every morning that will increase productivity, and monitor the success rate to see which ones work best.
Reward Yourself for Achievements
When you see that your mini goals have brought some positive results you are perfectly entitled to reward yourself for a job well done. I’ve seen situations in larger corporations where sales people don’t get enough thanks for their hard work. I’m sure that you will agree with me when I say that I believe that this is a huge mistake that can have very negative repercussions. Thanking people for their efforts breeds loyalty and consistency and is a must do for anyone managing a sales team. Great performers sometimes get taken for granted but they could quickly change their tune if they don’t feel appreciated.
Focus on Single Tasks in Blocks of Time
I’ve found this method of working to be extremely effective in terms of increasing sales productivity. It often happens in sales that you find yourself doing two or three different tasks at the same time. Maybe you’re answering an email from an angry customer while at the same time you’re on the phone to another client. Then on top of all this, a colleague walks up to you and asks you how to work the fax machine. All this multi-tasking gives you the feeling that you’re really busy and you’re getting loads of stuff done. Often the reality is very different because with multi-tasking you end up doing lots of things badly. What works much more effectively is to allocate blocks of time to particular tasks. For example, you can set aside 60 minutes for replying to customer emails and during this time you must switch off your phone and make yourself unavailable from any kind of disturbance. This will produce quality work and quality results. After such discipline you will also feel less stressed and more satisfied with the quality of your work.
Brainstorm New Methods
One final method that has really helped me to improve my productivity levels in selling is the simple old- fashioned idea of putting pen to paper and scratching my head for new ideas. We get so used to working in a certain way that we just don’t stop and verify if it’s the most efficient way of using our time and energy. This is why it pays to review our daily tasks and work out which ones are most important towards reaching our objectives and which ones could possibly be removed or assigned to someone else.
About the Author:
David Lynch is a Sales Training Designer & Accomplished Author. He has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of industries including software, insurance & hospitality. If you would like to learn more sales skills from David you can download a Free Copy of his E-book “25 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling” at http://www.saleswillgrow.com/
