Attention Sales People,
Here are some tips on how to work smarter as the price of gas hits new record highs:
by Jeb Blount, author of PowerPrinciples
This week the cost of fuel hit an all time high. There are few people who are not feeling the pinch. Because of record fuel costs, people every where are changing their habits to use this precious resource more efficiently.
Many, if not all, Sales Professionals are also feeling the pain of high gas prices. Does your heart sink each time you fuel your car for trips to appointments with customers and prospects? Have you begun calculating how much it costs you to drive to that small customer on the outskirts of town? Has the cost of fuel left you feeling depressed? Even if you are being reimbursed for some or all of this expense, the cost of fuel surely has your attention.
There is good news though. The pain you are feeling is causing you to take a closer look at how and where you are spending your time. Many of you are getting back to the basics of time and territory management and qualifying. Driving around for a weekend showing houses to a client only to find out that they can't qualify for a loan is too expensive. Driving two hours to meet with a customer who is a no-show is no longer acceptable. Making a call on one side of your territory and then driving to the other side of your territory to close a "sure thing" isn't worth filling up for twice in a day. Setting appointments with prospects who are not in the buying window costs too much. And jumping though hoops for low margin customers has become intolerable. The silver lining to the fuel crisis is the high cost of fuel is teaching us to use our resources wisely, to plan better, and to become more efficient and effective with our most precious resource, our time.
Four PowerPrinciples for Using Precious Resources Wisely
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Many, if not all, Sales Professionals are also feeling the pain of high gas prices. Does your heart sink each time you fuel your car for trips to appointments with customers and prospects? Have you begun calculating how much it costs you to drive to that small customer on the outskirts of town? Has the cost of fuel left you feeling depressed? Even if you are being reimbursed for some or all of this expense, the cost of fuel surely has your attention.
There is good news though. The pain you are feeling is causing you to take a closer look at how and where you are spending your time. Many of you are getting back to the basics of time and territory management and qualifying. Driving around for a weekend showing houses to a client only to find out that they can't qualify for a loan is too expensive. Driving two hours to meet with a customer who is a no-show is no longer acceptable. Making a call on one side of your territory and then driving to the other side of your territory to close a "sure thing" isn't worth filling up for twice in a day. Setting appointments with prospects who are not in the buying window costs too much. And jumping though hoops for low margin customers has become intolerable.
Four PowerPrinciples for Using Precious Resources Wisely
Qualify the Ability to Buy: One of my mentors taught me to only spend my time with prospects and customers who have "the ability to buy." He said you must be willing to ask the right questions up front to make sure that you are spending your time with the right people, the right companies at the right time. Ask the hard questions first, then spend your gas money.
Territory Planning: Few things are more inefficient and expensive than driving (or flying) from one side of your territory to another. One of the sure fire ways to maximize your income is to develop a territory plan and stick to it. First grid your territory by geography and day of the week. Next, only set appointments in each geographic grid on the days you will be there. Finally, schedule all other activities around those appointments in that area of your territory.
Technology: Use technology to reduce drive time. There are dozens of new services on the market that allow you to spend time with your customers without being face to face. From video conferencing to webinars you can complete many of your sales process tasks without ever leaving your office. Read: Using Web Conferencing to Build a Better Business (and Get Your Life Back) by Sales Gravy contributor, Rich Baker, CEO of Glance.net.
Prioritize: You can only do so many things in a day. You can choose to spend your time (and gas money) on high value tasks that make you money or low value tasks that waste your resources. The most successful people and top Sales Professionals take 10-15 minutes every evening to make a list of the top three to five tasks that must be accomplished the next day. This process ensures that when they wake up the next morning they are focused, energized, and using all of their resources wisely.
Prioritize: You can only do so many things in a day. You can choose to spend your time (and gas money) on high value tasks that make you money or low value tasks that waste your resources. The most successful people and top Sales Professionals take 10-15 minutes every evening to make a list of the top three to five tasks that must be accomplished the next day. This process ensures that when they wake up the next morning they are focused, energized, and using all of their resources wisely.
Last Week's Article
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