Sales

The average sales person spends very little of his time actually selling. Very often the time is spent Travelling, Waiting in Reception, Idle talk, Lunch, Paperwork, Research, Internal Meetings, Reading the Junk Mail, and other apparently important pastimes. The good salesperson will know that time is money, and every moment should be used productively.

The following are suggestions to improve productivity:

1. Plan every day carefully before it starts.

Ÿ  Include:

Ÿ  Time for phone calls

Ÿ  Time for appointments

Ÿ  Time for Travelling

Ÿ  Time for meetings

Ÿ  Time to write reports etc.

Ÿ  Stick to those times

1. Focus on doing one thing at a time

• Multi-tasking is an error in terms of managing your time. It is a mistake to think that you can make a phone call and write a report at the same time. It sounds good in principle but it is better to focus on one task and see it through to completion and then move to the next task. Of course, the men don’t have a clue about multi-tasking anyway but even the ladies should reconsider this approach

1. Switch off your e-mail software, and check your e-mail at regular, planned intervals during the day

• When you are focused on completing your weekly report or talking on the telephone to an important customer, the little box that pops up on the bottom left corner of your computer screen telling you that you have mail, will disturb your train of thought and delay accurate completion of what you are doing

1. During the time allocated to make appointments for instance, don’t put the phone down.

• Once you have finished a phone call disconnect the line but keep the phone in your hand. In this way you will be ready immediately to make the next call. If you put the phone down you will discover that you make many less calls in the time allocated.

1. Concentrate your appointments in one area a day.

• On completion of a time audit, many sales people discover that they spend half their working day travelling. This wasted time can be cut down considerably if you dissect your area into blocks then allocate a day to each block. Monday block “A” Tuesday “B” etc.

1. Have a GPS in your car.

• This has become an essential part of the salespersons kitbag, and even the most accomplished navigators will find new routes when a traffic jam blocks the most direct way.

1. Never visit a new prospect without an appointment.

• It is okay to “pop in” to see a regular customer without an appointment, this is what friends do, but new prospects are different.

1. Use waiting time

Ÿ  For most appointments plan to arrive early. You never know what the traffic will be like and many customers consider lateness to be bad manners. While waiting in reception, however, study the prospect’s company material or newsletter, or talk to the receptionist about the prospect and the company. Receptionists love to chat.

1. Have the structure and objective of the meeting planned in advance. Don’t leave the meeting until your objective is met

• This should not be left to chance, and the best sales people will go through the meeting in their mind, complete with a successful outcome, in advance of the meeting.

10.  Make notes in the car after every meeting.

• If you try to make notes at the end of the day you are likely to forget some of the details.

11.  Keep a complete record of trace dates and stick to them.

• A trace date is the next date when you plan to make contact with your customer. This may be for the next appointment, a phone call or perhaps follow-up after delivery. Every customer is different here; some may need a call within a week, for others it may only be a year or so.

12.  Keep records and write reports after hours

Ÿ  Normal working hours are valuable selling time.

13.  Have a lunch break.

• Lunch? Who has time for lunch? Actually it is important to allocate time for lunch. Taking a break in the middle of the working day will increase your productivity in the afternoon. Have a light lunch, fruit or salad for instance and listen to your favourite music on your iPod. It only takes fifteen or twenty minutes but it will really help your work in the afternoon.

14.  Avoid Friday sales meetings.

• I am horrified to find sales managers still calling meetings on a Friday afternoon. Friday is good selling time and to take the afternoon off to have a meeting is cutting your selling time down by 10%. That’s like giving your sales staff an additional month off every year. Sales meetings should be at 07:30 on a Monday morning, getting the sales team pumped up and ready to get on the road by 09:00.

15.  Enjoy your work.

• There are plenty of studies that show that people are more productive when they enjoy what they are doing. If you don’t enjoy your work you will never be successful

Selling is a numbers game. You can increase your strike rate by getting better skills but the more people you see the more customers you close.