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“Many salespeople have actually lost selling time in recent years” said Long. “Instead of providing productivity, some Web, e-mail and voice-based tools have kept customers and salespeople further apart. Customers and salespeople get bogged down with low priority and unproductive activities versus focusing on actions that will drive the business.”

Just Say No

An important challenge for many salespeople is their inability to just say no. There are countless individuals in our lives who attempt to get us to do things for them they could easily and realistically do themselves. Among the biggest abusers are bosses and coworkers.

Working effectively with CSRs and production teams can drastically increase sales time by delegating and letting other personnel manage projects and support their customers. Too many salespeople are chained to their desks, getting bogged down with details of jobs that should be managed by others.

For time-challenged salespeople, getting everything done can be exhausting. Leonard Bernstein once said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.”

Though most salespeople have practiced some or all of the techniques described, rethinking how you spend your time is well worth the effort—especially when customers are facing financial constraints. By spending more time on sales producing activities, you will not only gain more sales and compensation, but you’ll feel a lot better doing it.

Joe Rickard is a sales training leader and consultant in the graphic communications industry. He is the founder of Intellective Solutions LLC, a provider of consulting services as well as customized sales and sales management training. Contact Rickard at (845) 753-6156, jrickard@intellectives.com, or visit www.intellectivesolutions.com.