Salespeople have lots to do. Some of the things we do directly “pay us” while other things do not. Sales studs & studdettes have a tight grasp on the activities that they should spend time on during “Pay Time hours” and do those activities first. Since we don’t punch a clock in sales, the activities that do not directly lead to paying us should be done during your off-time or “No Pay Time hours.” This is a difficult exercise. It requires honesty and discipline. Think about it: What do you do that really pays you?
Step #1: Identify the hours in the day that you work. Most people commit to 8AM to 5PM or 8AM to 6PM (some earlier, some latter – doesn’t matter).
Step #2: Most people will hate this. Identify the activities that you do that DO NOT PAY YOU DIRECTLY. Let’s be crystal clear: These are activities that you have to do but they DO NOT have to be done during your Pay Time hours (they can be done “off hours”). You won’t like this…
Step #3: Identify the activities that you do that PAY YOU DIRECTLY. These are activities that involve direct contact or involvement with prospects or customers that can pay you. Real sales activities. These should be done during Pay Time hours.
No Pay Time Activities
- Proposals
- Quotes
- Research
- Expenses
- Administrative work
- Internal meetings
- LinkedIn & other Social Media
Pay Time Activities
- Sales appointments (sales calls, meetings, visits, etc.)
- Prospecting phone calls
- Follow up phone calls
- Customer conference calls
- Follow up emails
- Customer demonstrations, presentations, trials, etc.
- Breakfast, lunch & dinner with a customer
This is a tough one because there is so much to do and only so many hours in the day. The really successful sales professionals know the difference between Pay Time and No Pay Time. They are not workaholics. They don’t ruin their weekends. Yes, they keep the balance. They also know what’s important – profitable revenue!
We don’t get paid to do quotes, we don’t get paid to do research and we certainly don’t get paid to do our expenses during Pay Time hours.
You don’t have to like this exercise – but I’d pay attention to it. Especially those of you that say you “don’t have enough time…”
