It sounds cliché, but it’s true – better time management, and prioritizing selling tasks, leads to more closed sales.

Tips for Better Time Management on Biteable.

According to Sales Insights Lab, more than 80% of top sales performers spend four or more hours each day on sales-related activities, such as prospecting, meeting with clients and follow-up. It requires structure and discipline to stay focused on constructive tasks. And yet, many reps still fly by the seat of their pants and let the day come at them as it will, which leads to lost productivity. Data shows that reps still spend much of their time on non-selling tasks instead of prioritizing habits that are more likely to lead to closed sales.

Here are seven time-management tips for better organization of the workday and an increase in sales:

1. Create and follow a process.

Establish a daily structure that hits the most important tasks – lead-generating, prospecting, pipeline management, research, sales calls, brainstorming with prospects and clients, and more. Build in time each day for these sales habits and make them nonnegotiable. Then, schedule in administrative tasks – such as entering notes in your CRM and charting next steps for each prospect – after business hours.

2. Have a daily to-do list.

Each evening, as you wrap up, write out what you need to accomplish the following day. That will give you a roadmap from the jump in the morning, so you can start to tackle important tasks instead of figuring out what the day needs to look like. That will save you valuable time so it can be reserved for sales-based tasks.

3. Streamline repeatable tasks.

Save time by having email templates and call scripts so you’re not starting from scratch with each contact. Also consider using software for easy scheduling of meetings and calls instead of getting trapped in long back-and-forth email threads. And using a sales tool like ESP from ASI will allow you to generate quotes quickly for prospects and clients.

80%
The percentage of top sales performers who spend four or more hours each day on sales-related tasks.

(Sales Insights Lab)

4. Plan around your customers’ schedules.

For those clients you’ve worked with before, look back at your CRM notes that should give you tips on their schedule, communication preferences (phone/email/text) and other important attributes. This way, you can make sure you’re reaching out and visiting them at times that work best for their schedule using a method they prefer.

5. Limit multitasking.

Instead of toggling back and forth from the phone to email to the CRM and back, consider grouping activities. Take your call list for the day, and give yourself a timeframe. Dial each prospect, leave a personalized voicemail, log the call quickly in the CRM and move to the next. Later in the day, add details into the CRM and make a plan for the next steps for reaching out to each contact.

6. Take short breaks.

After each time chunk in your schedule – perhaps every two hours – take a five- to 10-minute break to give your brain a rest. Step away from your desk, grab a healthy snack, take a drink of water, walk up and down the block and come back refreshed for the next task. Be sure to schedule in breaks in your daily plan and make them nonnegotiable.

7. Track your time.

At the end of each day, look back at how you spent it and make adjustments where necessary. Maybe you spent too much time on a prospect that actually isn’t a good match for your value proposition, or you cleaned up your CRM during prime prospecting time. Be honest with yourself as to where you could have used your time more constructively and make adjustments for the next day.