Time Management Tips for Sales People

Why do some sales people accomplish more than their peers? Here are some time management tips to help improve sales performance.

By Jim Hingst @hingst_jim 

To make the most of your day, I have compiled some time management tips for sales people:

• Sales people should schedule their daily appointments and activities days in advance. This will give you plenty of time to do pre-call planning.
• Don’t over-schedule your day. Devote your time to your best prospects. If you have done a good job in qualifying your prospects, you will know the best hunting grounds.
• Review your sales objectives and target account list at the beginning of each new day.  Harvey McKay, author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, kept his number one prospect written on the inside of his hat. This reminded him of his goal every time he put on his hat.
• Schedule some telemarketing time each day for sales prospecting and to phone customers in your existing account base. To keep track of your prospecting  efforts and to maintain up-to-date records on your existing customer base, invest in a sales contact management system.
• When a customer has a question, provide him an answer immediately.  It makes a good impression on a customer if you actually do something during your sales visit.  There’s nothing wrong with phoning from the customer’s office to make an inquiry. 
• If you have a busy travel schedule, don’t unpack your bags. When I was a salesman, my suitcase always stayed in the trunk of my car. That way I was prepared to get on road again at the drop of a hat.   When I did my laundry, I would wheel the suitcase into the Laundromat and unload my dirty clothes. After washing and folding my laundry, I repacked the suitcase, and it went right back into the car trunk.

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

Slides of Jim's Artwork

© 2015 Jim Hingst