What are the most important activities you must do every day to be successful? Asking this question and focusing your energy is the essence of prioritization. Sounds pretty easy but a lot of sales people seldom or never prioritize the tasks they want or need to accomplish every day. No big deal if everything gets done by the end of the day. But when you have too many things to do, and not enough time to do them, it's human nature to do SOMETHING to get a sense of accomplishment. If you choose what can be done easily and quickly, without regard to the importance of the activity, it's going to bite you in the end. When we don't learn and practice prioritizing skills what happens to high priority tasks? They get shuffled away. Prospecting for new business, tracking your activity, preparing for a sales call, are a few of those important things we let slide. A lack of discipline is why many sales people struggle to reach their goals.
Bad habits seem easier to develop than good ones. They are also very difficult to break. Prioritizing your day is a simple and yet powerful tool that can help you manage and avoid some of the stress that is inherent in sales. This practice will sharpen your focus and help you clear the clutter and confusion that can so easily throw you off track. We are going to develop habits one way or the other – make them good ones.
What activities are keeping you busy from what is really important?