Unlocking the productivity puzzle is key to succeeding in sales. At the end of the quarter, it becomes even more important. If you are wasting time and spending too long chasing the wrong prospect or doing unproductive activities, you risk missing your targets.
Performing smartly is just as important as working hard. You want to make sure every moment working counts. These 5 simple productivity tips for the end of the sales quarter will help.
1. Make a to-do list
Just simply writing a to-do list before the start of each day can help reduce anxiety and keep you on track. Responding reactively to chat messages, emails and more results in you losing track of your meaningful activities. Be proactive instead. Write down what you want to achieve and focus on it. Dedicate specific time to tasks such as responding to emails.
Organising your to-do list by importance helps you do the most valuable tasks first, getting the key tasks out of the way in the morning. You’ll feel more productive and be held accountable by your task list. Try writing your to-do list down instead of typing it out. Find whatever works for you – a diary, a digital to-do list, a sticky note… Just make sure you have simple tasks written out to ensure you are focused from the minute you start working. It’s easy to simply burn away an hour or two otherwise.
2. Schedule shorter meetings, in chunks
Back-to-back meetings protect your day from being bombarded by distractions. Try and bulk book them in chunks, so you can get into an uninterrupted flow around it. Additionally, restrict your meeting times to under 30 minutes. It’s impossible to get into the zone when you have multiple meetings all day, and they drag on.
For salespeople, meetings are of course valuable, but so is time spent prospecting. If a meeting does go on for longer, clear your diary before or after to ensure you still get the time to do your core job. Encourage your meetings to be short, sharp and sweet by sending a simple agenda out ahead of time and sticking to it.
3. Detox from social media
It’s seriously easy to drain hours on social media. That also drains productivity. As with emails and chat messages in point 1, social media is the same. It is a distraction (LinkedIn prospecting aside). Notifications continually coming in will only distract you from achieving your daily goals.
The simple solution is going on a detox during work hours. Alternatively, mute notifications and log out of your accounts so you aren’t tempted to spend an hour trawling through your favourite Twitter memes.
4. Automate everyday tasks
A good CRM system will enable you to automate a lot of the admin-heavy tasks that take up a lot of your time. Get the mobile app to make this even easier. However, automation shouldn’t stop there.
Automating everyday tasks helps you focus on the tasks that generate results. Try a virtual assistant, to help schedule meetings, send emails, and complete administrative tasks. Or, look into CRM automation rules to populate fields and trigger workflows. Or, lastly, use a tool such as Zapier to connect systems and automate activities. Really, with today’s digital tools, you can automate pretty much any admin task.
5. Optimise your CRM data
If your data isn’t accurate, you’re flying blind. Poor data means poor efficiency. That’s because you might be wasting time on unqualified prospects or out-of-date information. Spend a small chunk of time each day to ensure your CRM is clean.
If your CRM data is well-tuned, you’ll know which prospects are most-ready to take your call, who has engaged with your company before, what content a prospect has previously engaged with, and more. Focus on your ‘hottest’ prospects in your pipeline.
Stay stress-free
The end of the quarter doesn’t need to be a manic, stressful time. If you use your time wisely and remain productive, you know you are doing everything you can to hit your targets. Stay ahead of the game with these simple 5 productivity tips to ensure you are prospecting to the right people and making the most of your time.
