Article Contributed by Jeremy J. Ulmer
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul Meyer
In the world of sales, finding ways to increase productivity and get more done in less time is essential to achieving great sales results, making more commissions, working less, and having more personal free time.
Here are 10 sales coaching tips to boost your productivity to new levels:
1. Most Important Things First. The most important task you need to get done each day should take priority over all other tasks. However, we all know that interruptions can pop up and the important task often gets put off.
If you put the most import thing off until later in the day, they often don’t happen. Your goal should be to get your most important things done first thing in the morning before doing anything else.
2. Wake Up Earlier. Get up just 30 minutes earlier and you can get a jump start on some of your most important tasks for the day. Decide what you’d like to accomplish each morning, and design your routine around your most important tasks.
3. Streamline Information. Think about all the information you receive on a daily basis: emails, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blog updates, newsletters, mailing lists, magazines, newspapers, and mail. Start to edit and remove anything that you no longer are using or benefiting from.
4. Clear Of Your Desk & Get Focused. Get rid of everything off your desk that you don’t absolutely need. Remove all distractions and focus on one thing at a time. With a clean and clear desk, it becomes much easier to be productive and organized.
5. Get To Work Early; Leave Early. Ever notice how much you get done when no one else is around? Consider coming into work a little early to start on your most important things without interruptions. The trick here is to make sure you set an end time to your day. So if you want to leave a 4:00PM, commit to it and it will also help you focus on getting more done before that time.
6. Schedule Your Meetings & Avoid Last Minute Meetings When Possible. Consider each situation, but in general, see if you can aim to always schedule your meetings instead of taking on the spot meetings in your office that will throw off your momentum. Remember that whatever is on your schedule for you to be focusing on, should be treated like a meeting that is already in progress.
7. Eliminate Non-Essential Work. You will only be productive in sales if you are working on activities that are going to move you towards your goals. Remove or delegate non-essential tasks from your to-do lists, and start to say no to new requests that are non-essential.
8. Do The Tough Stuff First. Do these first thing in the morning. If you put the tough tasks off, they will only become more and more difficult to accomplish.
9. Shut Off Your Internet Connection. Schedule times when you will be online to check email or research on the web. Working off-line can help you increase your productivity as you will be focusing on one task at a time without distractions. For many people, this one seems almost impossible, but challenge yourself to try it out and see what happens.
10. Get Passionate. If you truly care about what you are doing, you will work like a machine to get it done. It will flow and you will plow through your tasks without procrastination. Find the deeper meaning of accomplishing your goals and being productive. What will being more productive in sales enable you to accomplish, to do, to be?
About the Author:
Jeremy J. Ulmer is one of the most dynamic and requested sales coaching experts in the country. His company specializes in working with executive sales leadership, organizations, and individual sales performers to transform their sales results. They deliver customized sales coaching programs and sales seminars. Sign up for free sales tips and free sales coaching webinars at: http://www.SalesCoachingHabits.com/ or Follow @JeremyUlmer on Twitter.
