How To Shorten Your Sales Work Week
“One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.” – Bruce Lee
Post written by Jeremy J. Ulmer. Connect with me on or .
1. Cut Back Your Hours. Schedule how long you will work each day and in a given week. You will be forced to get things done faster and will notice an increase in sales productivity. To help ensure you leave at 5:00 pm, if that is your cut off time, is to make sure you have commitments after 5:00 pm. Have a recurring event to be working out at 5:30 pm each day with your workout partner, or to be home for dinner by a certain time, whatever it is, stick with it.
2. Work From A Virtual Office. The key here is to set rigid boundaries and to minimize distractions while working at home. You will save on commute time and save your company money, however, you will actually be tempted to work even more hours being at home, so you must stick with #1 above or this will not work.
3. Schedule Times To Check Your Emails & Voicemails. This will help you to increase your sales productivity because you will have less distractions and be able to focus more. Remember, you don’t have to be available every minute and second of the day…In fact, that just will slow you down.
4. Laser Focus. If you truly are committed to working less, then get more efficient at getting things done. This means you must shut off all distractions and focus on one thing at a time before you start the next task.
5. Set Time Blocks. Ever notice how tasks tend to fill up the time that you make available for them to be completed? Knowing this, limit the amount of time you have to complete sales tasks and you will get them done faster.
6. Accomplish The Big Tasks. The most critical sales tasks are the ones that give you the biggest return. Focus your time, energy, and effort on sales activities that will help you attain your goals.
7. Delegate As Much As Possible. Get as many tasks off of your desk as possible so you can focus on the ones that really count. You probably have more resources than you even know are available to you at your organization and you must leverage these to be a #1 sales performer.
8. Reduce Unnecessary Meetings. This is an especially important tip for sales managers. Go through your calender and find any recurring meetings that are not as productive as when they were first initiated. Consider removing them, or cutting the time for the meeting in half.
9. Shut Off Your Internet. Spend less time being distracted and surfing the web. There is always something new to read, a new email or a social media profile at your finger tips waiting to take you off track. One of the best things you can do when you are working on your biggest tasks is to disconnect from the internet or turn off your computer.
10. Find A New Sales Gig. Does your current sales position not give you the flexibility to implement these tips to shorten your week? Then, it might be time to consider exploring what else is out there. If you have sales skills with a proven track record of success, there are many great opportunities for you.
Decide to shorten your hours now and make a commitment to yourself. This can be one of the best things you will ever do.
Tags: shorten work week, work less