Put First Things First

courtesty of nuttakit
One of the most common things I hear from top producers is "If I only had more time!"  This feeling of task saturation can become as frustrating as trying to push a rope uphill.

Here's what else I know - the common skill set that seems to accompany most salespeople often misses an ingredient of planning.  Some of my favorite salespeople begin their day with war paint on their face, like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart". In their best Scottish-American accent they fiercely stare at themselves in the mirror and declare this day to be a day of Victory!  "We will conquer!  I will do this for my family!  I will do it for braces for my twin girls!  I will do it for the payment on my german compact luxury vehicle!  I will do it for my Cobalt speedboat!  I am in debt up to my eyeballs, failure is not an option!"  Then they are off, sword drawn, to vanquish any objection that dare separate them from another order.

What they, and maybe you, could be missing is: planning.  One of my old bosses used to say that "Proper planning prevents poopy-poor performance," his replacement for the age old "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail."  What all this means is that Stephen Covey had some sensible advice in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  As a sales professional, you should begin your week with the "Big Rocks" - Layout how you see it going, don't just "go with the flow".  Look at your weekly planner, starting with the standard required meetings, currently planned appointments with customers, then blank out time for followup, personal education, and internal paperwork and updates.

Your next appointment is the key to your upcoming paycheck.  Don't ever forget that.  So, if you lock in appointment setting time that cannot be interrupted, you will see your other appointments growing.  Hold this time sacred, not allowing it to be superceded by facebook updates or that ringing phone.  Stay focused!  One other side benefit, when you are sitting with a customer looking for their next appointment time, it makes you look more credible when your calendar is FULL.  People want to do business with other successful people!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Friends, Facebook, and Followup

How to earn the right to close

Make the phone work for you