Repertoire: In our survey, we asked, “What is the greatest obstacle to providing great customer service?” Forty-one percent said “not enough hours in the day.” And in another question, when asked “What is the single most important thing I can do to improve my sales?” 42 percent said “manage my time better.” How important is time management to you? Can you share your greatest time management tip?
Sam Marshall: Time management is key. I work as a clinician full time, medical sales rep nearly full time, and I own a critical care consulting business. Planning is the most important management skill I have. I plan my week with a small target area and I focus on this area until I close or know I can’t close a deal. I remind myself each week that I “can’t do it all.” Building relationships is key, and using technology is the best advantage I have. There are many time management apps, such as “Evernote,” which are very beneficial. The apps can act as your administrative assistant and make life much easier. I suggest researching the new technology available and let it guide you to success.
Dan Hilton: Time management and efficiency is everything. If I am not efficient with my windshield time, lunch hour, call schedule and even time spent in a waiting room, I am not optimizing my workday. Now my soapbox: Technology is a good thing; we are significantly more productive and our throughput has increase dramatically over the years. However, the technology that has allowed us this unprecedented productivity is also invading our entire lives. If I am not efficient during every minute of my working day, it creeps into my personal time. The line between work and leisure is getting more and more blurred. If I don’t make the most of my workday, then my quality of life is drastically affected.
Amy Annis: Time management is an ongoing battle because of the aforementioned “not enough hours in the day.” I don’t think it is great, but I try to not send “I am working on it,” or “OK” emails. I open emails, reply immediately if I can, delete the message, or mark them as to-dos and do them the same day. To me, there is no bigger time-waster than having a customer chase you for information. It is an ongoing battle: Instant information and instant access train customers to look for instant answers. This is often not reasonable or efficient for us.
Jack Moran: I have a reminder that alerts me at 6 pm every day to stop and write down and commit to the six most impactful things I need to accomplish the next day. It helps me filter out a lot of the busy work activities that still need to get done but cannot get in the way of the six daily priorities.
Rich Bilz: If customers had more time to spend with me (and were more focused themselves on increasing revenue and standardizing supplies), it would be a perfect world. My best customers are always those who spend the most time working on these things and who actually engage with me. They depend on me, trust me and we actually are beneficial for one another. I refuse to get involved with those who call around to shop for prices and show no concern for our company’s health and longevity. I will find plenty of hours in the day or the next day for customers who truly seek help and are loyal to me and my company. Time management is huge for me, but I feel it is not always easy. I try not to get bogged down with the administrative stuff if I can, and try to be in front of the customer as much as possible (those who will allow you to have their time). Sometimes the squeaky wheel does get the grease, though, but that is OK if they are not wasting my time and are respectful of that. Hate to say it, but my best time management tip is, do what you can administratively after or before office hours and get in front of the customer and actually sell as much as possible during their office hours.
Chris Lord: Time management is very tough with all the ways we have to communicate. Try to stay on top of your email, and your priority should be with your customers, first and foremost.