Want to make more money? Help more people? Make better use of your time? While it seems like a tall order, we have some ideas to increase your productivity in sales and it costs nothing to put these ideas to work.
All Time is not Equal
1. Imagine I own a vineyard and I invite you to come and work with me. It’s an enjoyable job and I’ll pay you $300/hour as soon as you walk through the gate. There are only a couple rules.
The vineyard is open between 8:00-12:00 and 1:00-5:00. When the vineyard is closed you have to leave and you stop earning. If you want to take a break, do research, go on social media or have lunch, you have to leave the vineyard.
So, knowing that every ten minutes outside the vineyard costs you $50:
- When would you show up for work?
- Would you take a half hour break in the morning ($150)?
- Would you check your social media frequently?
- How late would you work?
You have to supply your own baskets and sometimes your baskets break and you have to fix them outside the vineyard. When would you fix your baskets?
Key Activities
Every business has ‘prime time’ or ‘vineyard time’ when customers are most likely to be available. Yours may be different than another vineyard, so figure out when they are and make sure you are making the very best use of your time during those hours.
2. The best use of your time includes those activities that move you toward your goals and does not include any that are worth less than $300/hour. Ask yourself, “Is this activity the best use of my time right now?” Could you pay an assistant to do some of the administration or bookkeeping?
Many people spend in excess of two hours a day on social media. Is that producing results that are important to you? Is it worth $600?
As a quick exercise, list the six most important activities that move you toward your goals. Then do a time log to see how much time you are actually spending in those activities.
3. If you have the option, consider working only 3 or 4 days a week. But when you work, work. Be professional. Get dressed up. Stack as many appointments with qualified prospects as is reasonable during those vineyard hours. Have someone else call to confirm those appointments so you don’t have gaps. Get organized. Have all the information you need to make each meeting productive. Then use the extra time you’ve freed up to do family, community, health or educational activities.
Productivity in Sales
You might think $300/hour is too much to be realistic, but I expect that if you took your annualized income and divided into the number of hours you are face-to-face with a prospective customer it will be that or more. Spend more time there.
If you’d like to measure, how you use your time, request our time analysis form.