One of the many traits of the best salespeople I've ever met.

There are many traits that the best salespeople I have ever met possess. I plan to write a series of articles on some of the ones that I feel are most important to highlight. Today I would like to cover an important one that I feel gets swept under the rug at times. This is.... Organization! Sales often attracts people who are quick on their feet and good at "impromptu" interactions. This personality type tends to be rather disorganized. From my experience the best salespeople are incredibly organized, but not always by nature! It is as much of a learned skill as the act of selling is.

Every exceptional salesperson I have spoken with can show me their process down to a “T.” They have their targeted accounts organized and their strategy for each of them mapped out. Becoming an organized person takes commitment, discipline, and execution. Throughout your sales career you will need to keep track of multiple tasks, all with different levels of priority. Failing to stay organized can cause things to slip through the cracks and could cost you a huge deal.

Another reason why organization is so important is that it's under your control. Sales is a world filled with variables that you have no control over, but they impact you. A hurricane can cause one of your closing calls to be delayed; a family emergency can cause a meeting to be cancelled. The variables you can control are the biggest levers you can pull to impact your own success. A commitment to excellence in all areas you can control maximizes your chances of being successful month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year.

Lets talk about a key component of organization and a strategy to improve.

A key component of organization is time management. Sales reps need to focus on mastering time management, because time is a resource that is only worth as much as you make it. Booking meetings, doing demos, following-up on warm prospects, and sending tailored emails can be challenging to juggle. Even the best sales reps have missed quota because of just one deal, a deal that may have been attained by doing a better job managing their time.

Activity and Priority blocks

A great strategy for managing your time is to block off your day by activity and priority. Block off times to focus on specific tasks that you select based on priority and opportunity cost. For example, suppose 9:00 am to 11:00 am is the best time to make cold calls because it’s when your prospects are most likely to pick up the phone. When you are organizing your day, you should make sure that between those hours you are only focused on making cold calls and try and book your demos around that time. If you deliver your best closing calls first thing in the morning, block that time off and schedule those calls for the morning. Take a look at an example of how to block off your day.

That's all today folks! I would love to hear from you, what tricks do you use to stay organized?

As always, have a wonderful day filled with success and self-improvement!

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