Time is money, as the old saying goes, and no one understands this more than salespeople. After all, each moment your salespeople aren’t engaged in high-profit selling activity is a missed opportunity — and a missed transaction.
Sales success requires balancing various duties, some of which are tiresome and time-consuming but must be prevented. This is where good time management is essential. It’s a skill that the best salespeople have perfected and put into their everyday routines.
So, try these seven time management strategies for salespeople with your staff, and before you realize it, they’ll be making more things done a lot faster!
1. Beyond the CRM, help them stay organized
Salespeople typically spend most of their time on customer relationship management, or CRM for short, as it allows them to control all data and information about the prospects they’re dealing with.
This is essential because performing in a new company job takes a lot of time, and how that time is allotted is highly unpredictable.
If a prospect fails to show up for an hour-long appointment, or if another appears out of nowhere with a “Yes!” or “We’re ready to sign the contract,” it can significantly impact how a sales representative organizes their day.
Monitoring these steps in a global project management solution gives both reps and yourself high-level visibility into when a transaction might be completed or when the legal contract might be provided.
2. Eliminate unnecessary tasks
Administrative activities are vital, but they can quickly consume a significant amount of a seller’s time. So, let your salespeople seek administrative chores that they can reduce, automate, or outsource if you really want to optimize their high-gain selling opportunity.
Even if it’s only a few minutes spent here and there, those saved minutes pile up fast. To start, you can determine if it makes sense to delegate some of those responsibilities to your company’s Business Development Representatives or administrative staff.
3. Unexpected things happen, so be ready
When problems occur, how does your sales personnel respond? In this case, the more they can devote to concentrating on core responsibilities when a customer skips a meeting, a deal falls through, or your product line alters, the more time they can save.
When employing sales associates, you must look for flexibility and the capacity to think quickly on their own. Disruptions don’t slow down people who have organically oriented this manner.
4. Use email wisely
Email is a platform that could be a simple yet successful marketing device but can also be a considerable time and energy drain. In this case, your salespeople may save a lot of time and effort by managing their inboxes and keeping email layouts prepared for the interactions they conduct regularly.
So, it might be best to encourage your salesmen to create folders in their email inboxes so that they can readily obtain data when it’s required. Learn the best practices for producing the ideal email meeting request while you’re at it.
5. The concept of multitasking is a myth
On any particular day, your sales team is undoubtedly juggling many jobs. While this may make individuals feel busier, the quality of their work and attention to detail are likely to decrease as a result.
After all, our brains take time to switch from one job to another, and losing concentration during this period can significantly influence performance. So, your representatives should concentrate on one activity at a time for optimal outcomes and to maintain optimal customer engagement.
6. Make the most of the momentum
Your sales reps’ initial reaction may be to take a break after closing a deal, finishing a critical assignment, or achieving a goal.
However, this seemingly innocent activity can actually be harmful. Rather than taking a vacation, it might be best to build on your accomplishments and go right into another call.
Momentum is a valuable commodity that is hard to come by. Your sales associates should take advantage of the positive atmosphere and enthusiasm to jump directly into another prospect.
7. Recreate previous successes
It’s considered pointless to start over every time you get a new opportunity. So, evaluate the chances that your salesmen have managed to win to understand what has shown to be effective.
They should be able to create a pattern for where to look for fresh leads, what questions to be asked, and which research papers are most suitable for a given character, among other things.
Conclusion
If one thing is sure, it is that success in sales requires the capacity to execute a variety of duties daily. To be effective and provide customers or prospects the recognition they crave, your sales team must prioritize time effectively.
These salesperson time management techniques are an excellent place to start when it comes to streamlining activities and saving time to focus on closing more business.
As a sales manager, it’s your role to provide your sales team with the tools they need to become prepared, make a plan, and stay on track.