6 TIPS TO MAXIMISE TIME MANAGEMENT AS A SALESPERSON

You’ve probably heard the phrase “time is money”, especially if you’re a salesperson.

Whether it’s jumping on that last call with a prospective client, or putting together a new strategy with your team, there’s always something going on. 

But with lots of responsibilities, comes lots of opportunities to make mistakes.

Sales is unpredictable, and with so many different things happening each hour, let alone each day, spending time managing your time can almost feel like it takes up too much of your time. But what if I told you there’s a way to enhance your time-management strategies?

Time management isn’t just to-do lists, it’s strategies that will maximise productivity, minimise stress, and bring in results. 

WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT SO IMPORTANT?

Before we jump into the tips, you must understand why time management is key for a successful sales career. 

Many individuals kickstart their day with a loose idea of what they'll be working on, and of course, being adaptable and fluid is necessary, but a complete lack of structure can be detrimental. Without effective time management:

• MISSED DEADLINES BECOME THE NORM: When you're juggling multiple tasks without a clear plan, it's easy to lose track of time and miss crucial deadlines. This not only affects your reputation but also limits your ability to make the most of opportunities.

• STRESS TAKES OVER: The constant worry of forgetting something or falling behind can lead to unbearable stress and burnout. It's challenging to perform at your best when you're overwhelmed by anxiety and mental clutter.

• IMPORTANT TASKS GET NEGLECTED: Without proper prioritisation, you might end up spending an excessive amount of time on less critical activities while neglecting the crucial ones. This will eventually hinder your sales performance.

PRIORITISE YOUR TASKS

It’s no good writing a long to-do list that is mixed up with things that need to be done ASAP and things that can be worked on over the month. 

Create a traffic light system by distinguishing between tasks that are urgent (red), important (amber), and those that can wait (green). 

By focusing on the most critical activities first, you ensure that crucial deadlines are met, and you make progress towards your goals. For example, researching prospects and following up on calls take precedence over checking non-essential emails.

FIND YOUR PEAK PRODUCTIVITY TIME

Although you work 9-5, let’s face it – no one’s 100% productive the whole time. Everyone has that time of the day (usually after lunch) when they crash and can’t focus on anything strenuous. This is not the time to be strategising or cold calling. 

Instead, identify the time of day when you feel most energised and focused and use this time wisely by tackling your most challenging tasks that require concentration and creativity. 

This way when you hit your sluggish hour, you can approach the easier tasks like admin, responding to emails, or having a casual call with a client.

BREAK TASKS INTO MANAGEABLE CHUNKS

Large projects can be overwhelming, leading to procrastination and time wasted. 

Break projects down into smaller, actionable steps to maintain momentum and a sense of progress. So instead of aiming to complete an entire sales proposal in one sitting, focus on drafting the introduction or conducting market research first. Then, if you want to carry on, great, but don’t sit there for hours trying to complete it when you could be:

• Focusing on something else that boosts your energy and creativity

• Focusing on something more urgent

LIMIT TIME-WASTING ACTIVITIES

Everyone ‘wastes’ time at some point in the day, whether that’s spending a bit longer in the kitchen chatting with a colleague, or getting lost scrolling through LinkedIn. Eliminating this is impossible, and that will cause you to be too hard on yourself. But what you can do is identify activities that don't contribute to your productivity or sales goals and be more mindful to limit them. 

If TikTok is your guilty pleasure, set a time limit on the app, allow yourself to use it on lunch breaks, and if needs be, put your phone on another desk for a while.

USE ONLINE TOOLS TO MANAGE TASKS

Do you use manual checklists and find that you never refer back to them or that they just take too much time? 

It might be time to make the most of the tools on your computer.

Ideas include: 

• YOUR TEAMS CALENDAR: set reminders and block out times to focus on different things

• TASK MANAGEMENT TOOLS: you can use them as your day-to-day to-do list, as well as help you break down and complete overall projects

IMPLEMENT THE TWO-MINUTE RULE

This one is a must.

If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately instead of adding it to your ever-growing to-do list… or forgetting about it completely.

- Written by Shannon Matthews

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