5 tips to improve your sales time management

Theoretically, we all have the same amount of time available to complete our tasks. So why do we often feel like we lack it? Do others have as much trouble using it wisely?

Rest assured: if time management is talked about so much, it is because the problem affects everyone. The good news is that faced with this realization, many have looked into the issue!

First of all, we do not perceive the passage of time in the exact same way: when we need it, it slips away from us… but when we want to kill it, it stands still. To master time, let's not let chance triumph: let's be methodical.

As a sales representative, you must structure yourself and organize your time to integrate as many meetings as possible into your calendar, while remaining productive and prioritizing the most decisive actions. Likewise, avoid multitasking as much as possible to preserve your focus... and save time to recharge your batteries and maintain optimal efficiency throughout the day!

On paper, this sums up in a few lines… but how do you do it in practice?

Prepare to hunt down your persistent habits, no matter how comfortable they may be!

To do this, we repeat: be methodical and set up an action plan. As a result, your situation will improve fairly quickly and you will benefit from an extra boost of motivation, energy… and sales success!

I have 2 minutes of my time

How to organize yourself as a sales representative?

Below you will find 5 tips in detail that will help you save time. But if you are in a hurry, here is a summary of our advice:

• Determine the impact of your actions: Focus on the tasks that have the greatest commercial impact. Use the Pareto Principle to identify the 20% of efforts that produce 80% of results and prioritize these activities.

• Treat all your tasks as projects: Every task must have a clear objective, specific actions, deadlines, and assigned resources. This transforms a task list into a coherent and manageable set of actions.

• Establish routines: Identify the activities that have the greatest impact on your sales success and turn them into daily or weekly routines to maintain a steady work rhythm.

• Set your boundaries: Learn to say "no" to less important requests in order to focus on your priorities. This is crucial for effective time and resource management.

• Plan your schedule: Organize your weeks and days in advance, allocating specific time for each task or activity. This helps avoid wasting time and keeps you focused on your objectives.

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Specifically for field sales forces:

• Prioritize your daily tasks: Start with the most important and urgent tasks, using task management tools to stay organized.

• Plan your routes: Use GPS applications or tools (integrated with Sidely) to optimize your travel and avoid traffic jams, which will save you time and make you more efficient.

• Use a CRM management tool: A CRM is essential for tracking interactions with customers and managing your sales pipeline effectively.

• Optimize your store visit reports: to save time and optimize the time you spend completing reports during your customer visits, make sure you collect only the information that will be useful to you. Invest in a solution that allows you to take notes on a mobile or tablet, without needing a connection, with the advantages that these tools offer: voice note-taking, swipe gestures, native photo capture, document integration...

• Take breaks: Regular breaks are necessary to maintain your energy and focus throughout the day.

• Stay positive: A positive attitude is crucial to overcoming challenges and staying motivated. Focus on the progress made towards your sales goals.

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I have 8 minutes of my time

Analyze your time management for a week

Before changing your habits, you must first identify them! To do this, you need to answer a simple question: which sales activities take up most of my time?

Is it sales route planning? Or its optimization?

Is it collecting data in the field? Or writing reports after meetings?

‍For one week, divide your time into one-hour blocks and, at the end of each hour, note your progress. This will allow you to understand how much time each sales activity takes you.‍

To help you, time management apps and tools allow you to easily measure the time spent on each of your tasks. You can particularly rely on the Pomodoro technique.

At the end of your week, do a review:

• What did you manage to accomplish?

• Where did you lose time?

• Which tasks took longer than expected, and why?

Based on this, you will then be able to understand your areas for improvement, set objectives, and reorganize your weekly schedule. You can, for example, dedicate the most time to the most time-consuming tasks during the moments when you have been least distributed.

This time optimization method is the most effective because it is based on your needs and not on a supposedly miraculous model. Build a schedule that suits you.

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Reduce your low-value-added tasks

Time management often becomes complicated because a host of less useful, or even counterproductive, tasks clutter your day. To increase efficiency and get out of this vicious cycle, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you focusing on the wrong prospects? stores?

• Do you have to manage too many administrative tasks?

• Do you have to dig through your emails to find the status of your deals?

• Do you take enough time to recharge and be ready to make more informed decisions?

• Do you spend too much time on non-sales tasks?

Take the time to formulate your answers so you can remember them. Getting a reminder during times when you feel like time is slipping away from you is often beneficial. You'll get back on track in record time!

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Do a spring cleaning of your schedule

The challenge of time management goes far beyond productivity gains. Faced with increasingly tough, diverse, and creative competition, staying one step ahead is vital.

Do not see this imperative as additional pressure… but as an opportunity to better control the course of events. You are going to regain control and gain peace of mind, not the other way around. Define your priorities.

Your priorities are twofold:

• optimizing your schedule;

• improving the quality of your client interactions.

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To do this, structure your week on a solid foundation and save some time to handle the unexpected and emergencies. In the best-case scenario, you will be able to catch your breath. The rest of the time, you still win: you will have new opportunities to make a difference for your customers!‍

A little flexibility in an ordered environment is the key to success…

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Build a schedule and follow the set objectives

Do you know how you should start your day? If the answer is no, you are going to have a harder time getting started. Leave no room for improvisation. Once again, define your priority sales tasks and actions.

The night before, take a few minutes to reassess or establish your to-do list. You will prepare yourself psychologically to carry out these tasks and approach them with more confidence.

Know the best times to talk with your prospects. This infographic reveals that Wednesdays and Thursdays are more favorable times for calls, generally between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. This usually corresponds to the slumps of the day when people are multitasking; so it is not surprising at all!

For your existing clients, you generally have a clearer view of their work pace. Rely on regularity for your recurring catch-ups: they will facilitate the development of your business relationship.

These key moments of your week will help you plan the rest of your time and establish weekly routines that will make you more efficient! Organization is your best ally, it will quickly save the day in case of unexpected events because you will control more aspects of your day.

Turn your productivity into a priority: a sales approach

Prioritizing is essential to gain priority. You know that, obviously… So, how should you proceed?

Nurture your relationships with your regular customers

Do you know what your customers like about your approach? Do you have a precise idea of their desire to continue working with you? What offer would they really appreciate to take things to the next level with them?

Gauge their intentions, do some real investigative work to anticipate their desires. They will never leave you if you make their lives easier, especially before their next issue arises. By anticipating your customers' needs, you will see customer satisfaction increase and a positive impact on the performance of your recurring sales.

Optimize your reports

Shelf checks, store classifications, visit reports… The list of reports to complete can be long. Just like the amount of information to gather. This is, however, one of the most classic mistakes made by sales management, and one of the main reasons for sales reps' disengagement with their CRM and other tools.

Here, two things are important to consider. The first is how you design your report. The second concerns the tool used to gather the information.

A report should be as simple and quick to fill out as possible. You must therefore ask yourself, when creating it: is this information crucial? If I gather it, how will it help me? What does it indicate?

Next, do not compartmentalize your reports: build them to be comprehensive. Let's take an example. You are a field sales manager, and your goal is clear: monitor meetings and verify the proper placement of your products on the shelves. This involves several steps: visit preparation, shelf checks, POS and display tracking, and then reporting. Rather than filling out four separate forms, create a single report grouping all of these elements. This avoids unnecessary back-and-forth between screens… and a fair amount of frustration.

But you still need to be equipped with a solution that truly simplifies your life. Invest in a tool designed for the field, usable on a mobile phone or tablet, even without a connection. You then benefit from all the necessary features: voice input, built-in photo capture, adding documents... In a single report, you centralize all the information of the visit. Knowing that the objectives for the number of visits completed increase year after year, every minute saved in the field counts.

Prioritize effortlessly thanks to your CRM

Effective tracking of your sales activity, guided by a dedicated tool, will save you a lot of time. You will clear the doubts you have when planning your route because you will know exactly who to contact, when, and how. You will also find all your data on a dedicated platform and will no longer waste time recording information that will make a difference. A meeting canceled at the last minute?

Dive into your data to bounce back immediately and not waste that precious time.

Thanks to your CRM, immediately distinguish the stores and prospects you need to engage, the prospects to convince, and the clients who require follow-up. Shape your route plan to trace the most direct path to your sales success… Technology is on your side, take advantage of it!

Bonus: The Power of Habit… and even more

You have probably heard of this book, a bestseller in the personal development section. Its promise: to change a little to change everything.

It is a beautiful promise: a minimum of effort, if done well, will hit the jackpot. Everything counts: care for your sleep by staying away from screens an hour before bed and waking up at regular times. Your body will quickly adapt to this rhythm and waking up will soon feel much more pleasant. Take the time to get ready, do not rush because you will already feel like you lack time.

Also take care of your physical condition: a healthy mind in a healthy body, that is your mantra! Here again, do not put too much pressure on yourself. Today's world pushes us to control every aspect of our lives, as if it were a given. The essential thing is to strive towards this "healthy lifestyle" while keeping the pleasure of doing what you love. Do not chase a lifestyle that does not suit you, embrace the one that does. In any case, grant yourself special moments where you do what you love.

Life must remain a game, otherwise it is no longer very fun.

Think about podcasts, walks, or just the pleasure of discovering something new to clear your mind. And if it does not come to you right away, persevere and let yourself be surprised by the unexpected… Remember:

A little flexibility in an ordered environment is the key to success…