How often have you said, “There’s never enough time to get everything done”? There is some truth to the observation, depending on how you define “everything”. Time-management gurus will tell you, “There is always enough time to get the important things done.” Of course, you have to know which things are the important things.
To determine the important things, start with your goals—closed sales, new accounts, etc.—and identify the specific activities necessary for their accomplishment. Investing time in activities that don’t contribute to the achievement of overall goals is a poor investment, and thus, not important.
Identifying and contacting prospects is most certainly an important, if not crucial activity in reaching sales goals, yet it is the activity in which most salespeople invest the least amount of time or energy.
Conversely, generating proposals and developing presentations for prospects who have not committed to moving forward after the presentation is not a good investment of time and energy, and yet takes up a large portion of many sales peoples’ time. While they may be considered urgent activities, they are not important activities. Activity for activity’s sake is unproductive.
To remain productive and have enough time for the important activities, you must focus on and engage in activities to identify and qualify prospects, develop real opportunities, and close sales… in that order.
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