To Get Ahead, Think Ahead

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Sales is a job of do, do, do. It is a task-oriented endeavor, full of checklists, prioritizing, interruptions, procrastinations, have-to’s, want-to’s, could-do’s, should-do’s, and ultimately, results. Oftentimes, a sales rep’s daily agenda is self-generating: arrive in the morning, take on the first task that comes, and don’t stop until dark. They live on a treadmill, often wearing their high-weekly-hours-count as a badge of honor while seldom considering anything beyond the present moment.

But the best of the best don’t work that way. They don’t react. They are not victims of an overscheduled day. They take a smarter path, making better choices, engaging tricks and hacks, saying “no” a lot, leaving work at a decent hour, rarely working nights or weekends, and being completely present to their families instead of bearing the mental burden of work-related stress. But there is one key reason for all of this: Top salespeople have a secret habit that improves their productivity, increases their sales, and lowers the number of hours they spend working.

They think ahead.

Preparation is the key element in effective time management. The future is a Polaroid picture; fuzzy and uncertain. The closer a date gets, the clearer it becomes. How you prepare for your future can dramatically improve productivity. Think ahead in increments: the day, the week, the month, and beyond.

The desired result is a plan — a solid plan for tomorrow, an outlined plan for next week, a drafted plan for the month, and a goal for the distant future, all with a starting point: today. It continues tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. What you think about depends on the day.

☑ Friday

We start with Friday for one important reason: to make certain we’ve planned out the week to come. Get thinking:

• “Do I have a plan for next week?” This is actually the last step in a process that has gone on all week. As you add to your task list, try to match it up with similar activities in the days ahead.
• “My competition thinks today is a lousy day to make calls.” Friday is the first of two days where this thought appears and, in each case, it is completely true. Salespeople believe no one wants to hear from them on a Friday. Regardless of whether it’s true, get into the habit of doing the opposite of your competition. Buck the trend. Makes some calls.

☑ Monday

Once the weekend’s cobwebs are swept away and the day begins, so, too, must your thought process. Get thinking:

• “Am I ready for the week?” In order to answer this self-checking thought with a “yes,” you should have a more-than-general idea of what the week will bring and its overall theme. That is, if asked to, you should be able to describe the activities of each day. Plus, if you consider the week as a whole, there should be one common denominator. For example, perhaps the week is heavy on prospecting for new business or all about existing-customer management or travel or ...
• “My competition thinks today is a lousy day to make calls.” We start the week where we ended the last one, with a recognition that our competition is asleep at the wheel. Don’t buy in to this assumption. Monday is a great sales day. Make the calls. Make the calls. Make the calls.

☑ Tuesday

Getting to work on a Tuesday is like jumping on a moving train. Things are already in motion and your plan for the week has started. Get thinking:

• “I heard this is the best day of the week to make calls.” Tuesdays are great days to make a LOT of sales calls, especially for new business. As you think about the week ahead, plan to load up your Tuesdays with action items. Create a groundswell of sales activity that will reverberate all week.
• “What is the best use of my time right now?” This self-checking time-management question will keep you from straying away from the should-do’s (like selling) to the want-to’s (like checking Instagram). Note: There is no bad time to ask this question.

☑ Wednesday

Make it your goal to front-load each week with sales activities, so that by the end of Wednesday, you have completed the majority of your new business efforts. It’s a great feeling to go into the end of the week without the burden of being behind any daily call count you might have set for yourself. And in the meantime, get thinking:

• Quick check in: “Is my week on track? Any adjustments needed?” Getting knocked off track is a daily occurrence. It is all too easy to end Monday and Tuesday with the statement, “I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to today.” Make your Wednesday about righting the ship and completing your priorities first thing.
• “What ‘new’ can I learn today?” Top salespeople never cross the knowledge finish line. Take AI, for example. By asking yourself this question midweek and then carving out some time for a little education, you embrace and engage a once-in-a-generation technology to save you time, better your marketing, improve sales …

☑ Thursday

Today being Thor’s day, it’s time to put the hammer down on the gas pedal and push through our sales efforts to the end of the week. As you do this, get thinking:

• “How would I rate my week, productivity-wise?” By Thursday, you should have a good sense of how your preparation has translated into efficiency. Make any necessary changes and make next week better.
• Quick check in: “Where am I in the month? Where am I in the sales cycle? Where am I in the calendar year?” The end of every week brings future weeks and months closer, thus clarifying your Polaroid. By thinking ahead longer range, you are able to make minor and major adjustments to keep on track.

You might have noticed this is a five-day list and not seven. There’s a reason for that: If you can get into the habit of asking these questions and then acting on the answers, work will not be on your mind Saturdays and Sundays.

Thinking ahead is not a mandate. You are free to run your sales day more loosely if you like. However, the result of that, I suspect, is limited sales success. Hitting the upper echelons of sales volume requires a repeat pattern of think, then do; think, then do.

But that’s just how I think.