We're at the start of a brand new decade!  Were two of your New Year's resolutions to get better organized and to spend your time more wisely?  Most of us get so involved with daily activities that we soon forget those good intentions.

 

 We've all said, " I never have enough time."  For those of us in the sales profession, time is the stuff success is made of.  How we spend it determines our level of success or failure.  Let's examine our time management skills.

 

Exactly what is your time worth?  Many professions, such as accountants and lawyers, charge by the hour.  They plan their days to maximize their billable hours.  Although we as sales people do not charge by the hour, we definitely should know what each hour of our time is worth.  To calculate, take your earnings for 2009.  If you work 40 hours per week, 50 weeks of the year  (allow for how many weeks' vacation you have...if you are working in Europe, you will have more than two weeks of vacation), you will have around 2000 hours of billable time.  Divide your earnings by your number of hours worked.  What is each hour of your day worth?  Are you surprised?   We must not waste our hours!

 

 Sales success comes to those who understand and execute the sales process well.  Every day, it is important to put new clients into your sales pipeline.  The activities of prospecting, setting appointments for pain-finding calls, presenting solutions and service work done after the sale are all vital to your success as a sales person.  Each day, you should spend some of your "billable hours" in each of the above categories.  This allows you to grow your business and insures a steady stream of new clients coming on board to replace old clients lost.  Here's how a typical workday should look:

 These calls are to set appointments with new prospects.  You should do at least 5 of these per day, more if you are a new salesperson and are actively growing your business.

 The objective of these calls is to find out what the client needs, and what those needs mean to his business and to him personally. 

 

 The objective of these calls is to present solutions to your client's needs and pains. Here's where you ask for money! 

 You should be following up with clients, checking their results, writing thank-you notes.

 

 Now is the time to write orders, do copy, fill out production orders, plan your next day.  All of these activities should be done before 9AM and after 4PM. This will leave the bulk of your selling day to be in front of clients.

 

For those small emergencies when a client demands to see you right now, you can allow part of one day each week for such activities.  Most of the time, when a client calls and needs to see you immediately, making an appointment within a few days will work just as well.  That way you, not your clients, control your calendar.

 

It is important, before you leave each night, to have the next day planned.  You will come to work the next morning ready to sell.  You have a plan for increasing your income.  The difference between the mediocre performer and the top performer is often the way they choose to spend their time.  Make your resolution for 2010 to spend your "billable hours" productively.   

Pat Bryson has worked in the radio industry for over 25 years. During that time, she was one of the highest billing sales people in the radio industry in her market. She was promoted to General Sales Manager, managing and training both experienced and inexperienced sales people . Her career advanced to General Manager, where Pat  created a culture of over achievement for her stations.