Time Management Tips for Busy Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs

Have a strategic plan and make sure days contribute to the success of the strategic plan.

Have routines and habits that contribute to the strategic plan every day. (Ex. Start the day with meditation, exercise, affirmations, dog-walking, etc.)

Set daily goals the day before. Have a daily plan and stick to it. Plan the work and work the plan. (See Productivity Sheet)

Use the calendar and stick to it. If you know you need an hour to rewrite content on your website, put it in the calendar and start working on it as though it was a meeting with other people.

Schedule calls, meetings, outreach, and content development. Do not try to guess your way through the day and hope you accomplish what you need to accomplish.

Prioritize tasks. In case you are wondering – the first thing to do every day is to do what is going to make you money. Know what is distracting for you and do not waste time on distractions. (Ex. Singing huskies and talking dogs are my favorite ways to waste time. So I cannot see those during the work day.)

Be rigorous about work time. Plan to be productive for 8 to 10 hours a day and stick to it.

Never, ever, ever wait until you “feel” like doing something. Feelings are emotionally based. Business success is based on decisions. Decide to get things done.

Everyday review what you must do to stay on track for yourself and for other people.

Be consistent about working the parts of the day that generate the most return on your time.

Make outbound phone calls to past, current, and future clients every day.

When things pop up, categorize them quickly:

• Do — short tasks that can be done in five minutes or less
• Delay – these are tasks that need to be scheduled so that you get them done and so that you can focus on them at the right time
• Delegate – assign this to someone else. If you do not have anyone to assign it to, use contracted services or a virtual assistant service.
• Delete – decide this does not need to be done by anyone and delete it or trash it.