subject: Why You Should Spend More Of Your Time Selling [print this page] An average of no more than two hours out of their day actually selling is the amount of time the majority of people in the sales force spend.
There are two reasons why this fact is astonishing. One, how do we as sales people manage to meet our goals? Number two, why are we even in sales to begin with?
In our work week, the lack of hours we spend selling is understandable. Let's face it. Taking up half of your day is the paperwork alone. Not to mention the phone calls, the problem solving, putting out fires, etc.
There are many challenges to be faced throughout the day.
Why is this? Do you know why this happens?
This is actually considered as a very dangerous mind set and it is especially true if you are planning to survive in the world of retail.
Problem solving and handling customer complaints is a difficult challenge we must face on a daily basis which is why we automatically believe that this should take priority over our selling, because we see the selling as fun and rewarding.
All the other issues can be stressful, so we tend to want them out of the way so we don't have to worry about them.
Yes, dealing with current customers and building the relationship is very important, but your goals don't go away. So we must obtain new customers through new sales.
Time management is probably the key ingredient to spend more of your time selling.
For each day of the week, you can put together an action plan where you allow at least four hours of your day to be spent selling.
While it is very easy to put an action plan together, in order for you to succeed, it is extremely critical that you stick to it.
Another key ingredient to spending more time selling is delegation. If the luxury of a staff is what you have, then how about delegating some of the operational issues to other people?
Plus, you know the rush you get from a sale, the thrill of closing the deal. On your work day, this can also have a psychological effect. Out weighing the depressed feeling that comes with dealing with operational issues all day is making a sale and this is also a great feeling.
Remember, you are a sales person, and it is very important to spend the majority of your time selling.
There is not a problem that your current customer is having that cannot be fixed by either you or the person you delegate it to. So concentrate on sales.
