Why
do a group of salespeople with the same equipment, the same products and the same
price list often get such different results? A few make big sales; others just
get by; some even drop out altogether.
Generally
speaking, it comes down to self-management. Salespeople differ in the way they
manage their time and territory.
Not
knowing how to make the most profitable use of their time is often more responsible
for poor sales performance than mediocre sales skills. To a large extent, how
you manage your time determines your selling success.
All
people have 24 hours per day. Top sales performers don't fritter away their time
on unproductive activity. They know that every minute counts, and that every hour
added to selling time increases their chances of making more sales.
Selling
time is the time spent in direct interpersonal contact with prospects and customers.
Here
is how you can add five to ten more hours of selling time every week! Begin by
calculating what you can gain from added selling time.
To
find the value of your selling hours, divide the number of hours you spend in
direct customer contact into your weekly income. For example, if you earn $900
a week and spend an average of 15 hours with customers and prospects, then your
time is worth $60 per hour.
Once
you know this figure, you also know that for each hour of selling time you add
to your average of 15, you can expect to add an additional $60 per week. The sooner
you realize how you spend your selling day, the sooner you will be able to manage
your time for better results. You will be able to distinguish between activities
that take up too much time and activities that require more of your attention.
To
get a better grasp of your time management, carry a pocket notebook with you.
Jot down exactly how long each activity takes you - travel time, waiting for customers,
meetings with customers, prospect meetings, lunch breaks, desk work etc. After
a week, create a chart something like the one below:
| | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Total |
| Travel | 1.00 | 1.75 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 1.25 | 7.00 |
| Wait | 1.25 | 0.75 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Cust. | 1.75 | 2.00 | 1.75 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 9.00 |
| Prosp. | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 0.50 | 6.00 |
| Meals | 1.50 | 0.75 | 1.00 | 2.25 | 1.50 | 7.00 |
| Desk | 1.00 | 1.25 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 2.25 | 6.00 |
A
quick glance will show you that too much time is spent on lunches - a total of
7 hours for only five days. By limiting yourself to just 45 minutes per day, you
can add 3.25 hours per week. Also, you can save hours of wasted waiting time by
making definite appointments that assure prompt reception.
Perhaps
you spend too much time traveling. This unprofitable activity can be reduced by
planning your travel routes much more economically.
And
notice that by doing your desk work at home in the evenings or weekends, you can
devote six more hours per week to selling time. Time is your most valuable asset.
Yet the average salesperson spends only two hours per day actually making sales
presentations.
The
rest of the day consists of reasonable traveling and inefficient weaving back
and forth between prospects; reasonable friendly conversation and useless chitchat;
reasonable lunch breaks and too much small talk; reasonable waiting to see the
prospect and time-consuming inactivity.
By
gradually minimizing and ultimately eliminating all unproductive activities, a
typical salesperson can increase their selling time by at least 25%. This means
you can reasonably expect a similar increase in your sales and income.
Here
is a checklist to help you make an honest time analysis on yourself.
1)
Do you get started as late as 10am too often?
2)
Do you spend too much time reading the paper or watching TV?
3)
Do you waste time by hanging around the house or office when you should be out
selling?
4)
Do you waste the first hour wondering where to go, how to get there, or whom to
see?
5)
Could you reduce waiting time by getting appointments before you see your prospect
or customer?
6)
Do you waste time by making personal visits for purposes that could be handled
over the phone?
7)
Do you spend too much time on lunch or coffee breaks?
8) Do you leave too much time between appointments?
9)
Do you take time in the day for desk work you could very well do at home in the
evening?
10)
When you are forced to wait, do you have other work with you?
11)
Do you waste time by needlessly prolonging interviews?
12)
Do you waste time by crisscrossing your territory because you didn't plan your
calls logically?
13)
Do you call on some accounts more often than their potential warrants?
14)
Do you waste too much time on people who are of no possible value in helping you
accomplish your sales objectives?
Copyright
2001-20087 BizTrek International, Inc. and Gil
Gerretsen
May be republished
in full with proper credit to BizTrek and the author
