{"id":2547,"date":"2018-08-06T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devbloglavaprotocols.nityo.in\/how-successful-salespeople-stay-productive-at-work\/"},"modified":"2018-08-06T08:00:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T08:00:21","slug":"how-successful-salespeople-stay-productive-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavaprotocols.com\/the-cloud-blog\/how-successful-salespeople-stay-productive-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Successful Salespeople Stay Productive At Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jim Hopkins, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Everyone\u00a0struggles to stay productive\u00a0at work. Salespeople aren\u2019t an exception to the rule. However, with the lifeblood of the company (i.e. revenue) in their hands, there seems to be a microscopic focus on every detail of a salesperson\u2019s day-to-day life at all times. And even though salespeople are typically known for being driven and results-oriented by nature, many companies dedicate a lot of attention, effort, and money to improving the sales team\u2019s productivity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, does sales have a productivity problem?<\/p>\n

At the root of this question is the role of sales, whose job is to, in fact, sell stuff. The most important part of doing that job is being in customer meetings \u2013\u00a0focused on building relationships and solving problems.<\/p>\n

However, a salesperson\u2019s daily to-do list likely includes a lot more than just that. The unfortunate reality is, only\u00a0one-third of an average salesperson\u2019s time is spent meeting with customers<\/a>. The other two-thirds are spent on other administrative \u2013 albeit still very important \u2013 tasks that all too often eat up time normally dedicated to customer meetings.<\/p>\n

Related<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Salesforce Lightning Features Will Help You Sell Smarter and Faster<\/a><\/p>\n

Therefore, we have a \u201dsales productivity conundrum\u201d. A salesperson\u2019s most productive time is spent engaging with customers. But there are also critical administrative and preparatory tasks that need to be done.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the secret to helping salespeople remain productive while focusing more of their time and attention on relationship-building activities?<\/p>\n

Here are five tips for staying productive that the most successful salespeople agree on:<\/p>\n

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1. Start Your Day Off Smart<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Whatever your morning routine includes, it\u2019s important to kick off the day on a productive note. Some salespeople swear by exercise, while others believe eating a good, healthy breakfast is the recipe for success.<\/p>\n

There are some who believe in the power of some sort of mental preparation (Sudoku anyone?). There\u2019s no single best way to start the day. Just do whatever works best for you \u2013 and set the tone for productivity from the minute you get your day going. Doing so can and will pay off in a big way throughout the day.<\/p>\n

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2. Stay Productive On the Go<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Field sales executives are ideally leaving their desks or offices for customer meetings and oftentimes don\u2019t have the luxury of sitting in front of a computer. Travel or down time in between meetings offers a great opportunity to make progress on important administrative or communications-based tasks. Having the right mobile tools can turbo-charge productivity during those moments, allowing more time for higher value activities (i.e. more customer meetings).<\/p>\n

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3. Conquer Small but Mighty Time-Wasters<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

We all love to check in on social media from time to time or engage in a little water cooler chat because let\u2019s face it, it can be a real a struggle to maintain focus 100 percent of the time.<\/p>\n

However, did you know that interruptions like these not only waste time \u00a0\u2013 it can actually take 10-20x longer to get back to being productive \u2013 but also can cause your overall\u00a0brain power and quality of thinking to diminish<\/a>\u00a0as well? Finding ways to block distractions and limit interruptions can make a big impact on productivity.<\/p>\n

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4. Use Insights to Prioritise Next Steps<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

No salesperson has to run through the phone book systematically anymore making cold calls. However, it\u2019s just as inefficient to try and tackle other tasks without any sort of logical prioritisation. Thanks to the tools we now have at our disposal, we can tap into the power of data to provide insights that help us filter out which leads, opportunities, and activities are the best to focus on at any given time. Besides saving time, we\u2019ll be more successful and happier working with the right customers.<\/p>\n

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5. Automate as Much as Possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Following in the same train of thought as above, a major key to productivity today revolves around technology (for time-saving, that is, not for creating more distractions!). High-performing salespeople know that harnessing the power of technology<\/a> can be a true competitive advantage. For example, automation tools can use rules to detect when to trigger tasks, events, or approvals while artificial intelligence can go one step further by recommending actions, uncovering the right insights (automatically), and making sure you don\u2019t miss any important details.<\/p>\n

Article<\/a> first appeared on the Salesforce Blog.<\/p>\n

Lava is an<\/span><\/i> authorised Salesforce Partner<\/span><\/i><\/a> in Malaysia and has more than a decade of experience in cloud solutions which includes marketing automation, CRM implementation, change management, and consultation. We pride ourselves in not just being a CRM partner but in also understanding the needs of our customers and taking their business to the next level.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n