Sales Leadership: Take Care of the Big Stuff First

Sales Leadership: Take Care of the Big Stuff First

How often do you catch yourself putting off long-term strategic tasks to take care of "a few little things" that need to be done right now?

It's a tempting trap. The stuff has to be done. The deadlines are right now. And it won't take long, right?

Sales coach Bill Cates tells this story about the importance of setting priorities on how we spend our time and energy.

A speaker at a conference put two glass jars, two bowls of stones, two bowls of pebbles, and two bowls of sand on the table in front of him. He poured sand into the first jar and shook it a little. Then he poured the pebbles into the jar and shook it again. He tried to pour the stones in, but only a couple fit.

He turned to the second jar and began by pouring in the stones. They all fit. He then poured in the pebbles, and with a little shaking they all fit, too. Finally he poured the sand into the jar and it fit as well. The contents of all three bowls fit into the second jar.

The big rocks go first

The moral of this story? Deal with the big rocks first! Do the important things first, every day. Plan each day as best you can so you work on the important things first, the not-so-important things next and least important last. There's a good chance they'll all fit!

See if you can structure the whole day the same way. Focus on the important stuff and fill in gaps with less important tasks. You don't have to look at every e-mail when it comes in; save them for when you need a break from a bigger task, like following up with sales prospects or finishing up that presentation for the CEO.

Of course, this is often easier said than done. But it helps to have a clear vision of what you'd like your days to look like even if you're just planning the next day. Just a little bit of focus and a little bit of discipline will yield big results.

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