Everybody is after me about Time Management these days. Specifically: “How do I manage my
time each week to maximise my sales productivity”
Assuming you have 40 hours in a week to spend on sales and invest in growing your business
how best should you spend that time? Below you will find my suggestions for a schedule that
is consistent with thriving in any economy.
You might notice that the total number of hours
adds up to more than 40 because I know that some of the ideas I am suggesting may not apply
to you – or you might just downright refuse to do some of them despite my constant urging
of them as a best practice. On the other hand, some of you are freakishly productive and
can complete the tasks much faster than I. If that is the case, move quickly, add activities
and by all means DO MORE in the time allotted.
|
Sales Activity |
Hours per Week |
|
Call 4 "past" or "lost" clients to maintain communication |
5 |
|
Call 25 qualified prospects per day for pipeline management |
10 |
|
Network with a partner once per day by phone |
2.5 |
|
Read for professional growth and skill development |
2.5 |
|
Attend a networking event or association meeting once per week |
2 |
|
Write an article for your blog, newsletter or association trade journal |
5 |
|
Call 5 existing clients to ask for referrals |
5 |
|
Call 10 suspects per day to fill the pipeline with potential leads |
5 |
|
Surf the internet or your database to find new prospects |
1 |
|
Develop alliance, referral or reseller partners |
2.5 |
|
Plan “in the neighbourhood” meetings for when you are travelling |
1 |
|
Research trade shows to attend for promotion |
1 |
|
Send email newsletter to your customer list |
2 |
|
Send special mailers – thank you cards, birthday cards, client thank |
2 |
|
Look for advertising opportunities or review and upgrade the ones you |
1 |
|
Stop in and see 1 client on your way into the office each day |
5 |
|
Call 5 clients and ask for testimonials |
2.5 |
Recently I conducted a poll with my clients—most of whom were in leadership positions—to
determine their biggest sales concerns. The overwhelming answer was sales productivity. In
other words, how much revenue per period can each team member produce, and how can we make
that better.
You can chart your sales productivity daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or even annually.
And, given that we have just finished a calendar year recently, you have a great opportunity
right now to take a look at your own productivity or that of your team from last year.
We all want improved productivity, but if you don’t know how productive you were last year,
how will you know what to improve? For ideas on how to measure your productivity check out
this article in our article library https://www.engageselling.com/blog/090108article.shtml
To reinvent your sales this year, you must know your benchmarks from last year. Once that’s
established, you can choose the right activities to improve. You must measure results at
every step, and make decisions based on the numbers—not your gut feeling.
As I do every year, I invite you to set a goal for yourself for the coming year and send
me your implementation plan. I am happy to hold your feet to the fire every month—just a
friendly check-in to see how you’re doing!
Remember that this first step to better results this year is knowing where you stood at the
end of last year. Like most sales professionals, it’s likely that you can quickly recite
exactly how much you closed and how much you earned last year. But have you stopped to consider
just how productive you were based on the activities you completed? It’s a question worth
pondering. Once you are confident in the answer take stock of how you spend your time and
add some profitable activities from the list above. I know you will profit if you do.