You’ve probably heard the saying ‘time is money’, and it’s never been truer. As a sales coach, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of time management. Time is your most valuable currency, and whether you’re spending it or investing it is up to you. For sales professionals, managing time correctly can mean the difference between achieving success and falling behind.
In order to succeed in sales, you need to be productive, not just busy. This means focusing on the most important tasks that will help you achieve your goals. But where do your priorities lie? The answer lies in where you spend your time. In this article on sales coach tips, we explore the importance of time management for sales professionals and provide you with some actionable tips to improve your productivity.
To understand the importance of time management for sales professionals, it’s essential to understand the distinction between being busy and being productive. Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re achieving anything. It’s easy to spend your time on unimportant tasks that don’t move the needle in your sales pipeline. Productivity, on the other hand, means focusing on the most important tasks that will move you forward and help you achieve your goals.
To understand how you are spending your time, you need to conduct a time audit. For one week, write down every activity that you do and how much time you spend on it in your calendar. At the end of each day, highlight the activities that were productive and the ones that weren’t. At the end of the week, add up the time spent on productive activities, and you’ll see how much time you’re investing towards achieving your goals.
Once you know where you’re spending your time, you can start to make changes to increase your productivity. One of the best ways to do this is to prioritise your tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix. This matrix categorises tasks into four quadrants: urgent and important, not urgent but important, urgent but not important, and not urgent or important. Focus on the tasks in the first two quadrants, as these are the ones that will help you achieve your goals.
Another key component of time management for sales professionals is to be disciplined with your time. Set specific times for prospecting, follow-ups and administrative tasks. This way, you’ll be able to focus on each task without getting sidetracked by other things. It’s also important to eliminate distractions during your workday. Turn off notifications on your phone and avoid checking your email every five minutes.
Lastly, it’s crucial to make time for learning and development. Sales is an ever-evolving industry, and technology is constantly changing. Make it a priority to stay up to date with the latest trends and developments in your industry by attending sales training, live events, keynotes and reading industry blogs. Our blog alone has well over 100 articles covering every aspect of sales, sales coaching tips and sales management.
In conclusion, mastering time management as a sales coach is essential for achieving success. By differentiating between being busy and being productive, conducting a time audit, prioritising your tasks, being disciplined with your time, eliminating distractions, and prioritising learning and development, you can increase your productivity and achieve your goals. In the world of sales, time is your most valuable currency. Invest it wisely, and you’ll see the results.
Struggling to find the time to hone your sales skills? Our sales coaching team has decades of real-world proven sales experience spanning across all the major industries. We also offer extensive sales training and sales management courses, live events and keynote events throughout the year. Get in touch today!
