A timely idea

Sales people use all sorts of tricks to keep themselves focused on their primary task. We all know that the more time we can spend talking to advertisers and prospects the more money we will make, but it is easy to get distracted. I spoke to a sales person recently that has a unique way of keeping himself on task. He bought a cheap digital stopwatch. Throughout the day he starts the clock running when he is talking to a customer either in person or on the phone. As soon as the conversation ends, he hits the stop button. Each day he records the total elapsed time in his Day timer. He told me that when he started doing this he was amazed at how little time he actually spends doing the activity that he gets paid for, talking to customers. This gives him a heightened awareness of time and has motivated him to operate more efficiently. He plays a little game with himself, trying to beat his previous "personal best."

I've met a lot of salespeople in my life. The top sales people I've encountered are always excellent time managers. Using a stopwatch is a bit extreme but the idea behind it is sound. The more time we spend with customers--the more sales we will make.

Keep smiling, keep selling

Thanks Jim Busch