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” & 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 after hours off of Pay Time hours. This is a difficult exercise. It requires honesty & 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 do not involve the prospect or customer (with you). You have to do them, 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
- Internal/personal email
- Planning
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 & only so many hours in the day. The really successful sales professionals know the difference between Pay Time & 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 & we certainly don’t get paid to do our expenses during Pay Time hours.
You don’t have to like this exercise – but pay attention to it. Especially those of you that say you “don’t have enough time…”
