Time Management for Sales Pros

According to a Miller Heiman 2003 Sales Effectiveness Study, over 60% of sales organizations are being pushed to increase results with reduced budgets and fewer salespeople compared to last year

Whether you are a sales rep or a sales manager this information is probably not a surprise to you. Simply put, the current business climate demands you work smarter and not harder. It's about being organized enough to put your best foot forward in order to close business. The sales professionals I work with sales pros who rarely disagree when I say that time management is not only important but a critical factor in being successful. When I break down the most important components, here's what I find:

Prioritize. Most sales professionals I work with have a clear understanding of their goals and priorities, but shifting priorities have become the norm in most organizations. Being able to change quickly can mean gaining a competitive advantage, but it might also leave the employee feeling confused and over-whelmed. To remain flexible, re-visit your priorities several times during the day. Try working on priorities first thing in the morning BEFORE accessing email. This is a much more effective approach, both long and short term. However it can be difficult to implement because we tend to respond to the urgent (email) first. Your time management habits should support your ability to focus and proactively seek working on what's important, because focus and importance shouldn't be on any customer and prospect but on the right customer and the right prospect. Otherwise you're simply wasting time and opportunity.

Process. Selling is a process. It requires being efficient (doing the right thing) and effective (at the right time). And that's what time management is all about. But the first rule of effective time management is to overcome personal disorganization. How do you handle all that incoming information? Is the pile on your desktop stressing you because you fear something might be falling through the cracks? Can you store, manage and retrieve electronic and paper-based information easily? Paper and time management are interconnected so having a roadblock in one area usually leads to a challenge in another. If your systems and processes are already in line, ask how you can make them better because little shifts can make a huge difference in increasing productivity and reducing stress.

Proceed. 'Hope is not a Strategy' is one of my favorite book titles. The same is true for improving your time management skills. It's action that makes the difference. Doing something that moves you forward helps you feel you have more control of your day and your workload. Just thinking about doing something is a waste of your time. Time that would be better spent overcoming roadblocks.

Don't be a slave to poor time management habits, cluttered desktops (and hard drives) and procrastination. Being successful means having more time to spend with your family and friends as well as pursue some of your own interests.

Copyright 2004 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.

Cynthia Kyriazis is a Professional Organizer, trainer, consultant, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. She is President of Organize it, Inc., an organizational consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients since 1995. Cynthia has worked with over 150 companies and hundreds of professionals to help improve performance in the areas of time, information, space and electronic file management.

Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of International Society for Performance Improvement ? Kansas City chapter (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

---

Measure Your Time Against Active Inactivity

We don't realize many things we do until we draw... Read More

Effective Use of Your Online Time

The Internet is increasingly becoming a major time killer for... Read More

Taking Time Off For Your Business

As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More

Reading -- 10 Ways to Find The Time

Why Read?It's been said that there are three kinds of... Read More

Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More

Delegate or Drown

Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are... Read More

Emergency Living

There are times, when I am driving in my car... Read More

Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life

Balancing Your Work, Family and Social Life... Read More

Time Management: 11 Tips

Work more efficiently and be more productive using these time-management... Read More

Pacing Yourself Through Change

OK...let's assume that you're truly motivated to change. Great. But... Read More

Keeping YOUR Calendar Full

When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More

9 Business Time Management Skills You Need To Succeed

Do you have plenty to do, but don't have enough... Read More

Desktop Management Boosts Productivity

Many of us spend long hours at our desk. To... Read More

How To Make Your Job Easier

The techies could do a lot more to make our... Read More

Biggest Time Management Mistake

The biggest time management mistake you can ever make is... Read More

Oh, My Goodness! Where Has the Time Gone?

It's 6:00 a.m. I'm awake. I'm pumped! I'm ready to... Read More

More Precious Than Gold

In this world there is something more precious than gold.... Read More

Peace Of Mind At The Workplace

Work brings together people of different characters and behavior, and... Read More

Take Back Your Time

"You will never find time for anything. You must make... Read More

Mercury Retrograde and Time Management

The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More

10 Ways to Take Back Your Time

I've divided my tips into two sections - 5 ways... Read More

Time Management: A Fresh View

Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality... Read More

Top Ten Motivators

Setting goals is the easy part -- but sticking with... Read More

Make Procrastination Wait

Reflect on the rewards of kicking the procrastination habit. They... Read More

Seven Ways to Say, No!

A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More

Decrease Your Sleep, Increase Your Energy! And Have More Time In Your Day!

Many of the world's most driven and successful people sleep... Read More

Looking At Time With A Capital T

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More

Schedule Time for Interruption

One of the most challenging situations people face when planning... Read More

How to Find More Time in Your Day-Balancing Career and Family

Goal Planning-Achieving balance in a person's life requires assessment of... Read More

Time Management - How To Get More Done In A Day?

Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that... Read More

Time Management Tips - How to Have a Filing System That Works

Recently I was working with a new client who had... Read More

Increasing Your ROI

All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More