What You Should Do for Your Sales Summer Cleaning

If there is one thing all salespeople and selling owners everywhere are guilty of, it’s adding unnecessary items to our task lists.

If there are two things all salespeople and selling owners everywhere are guilty of, it’s letting those items sit on that list day after day.

If there are three things … It’s chasing squirrels. In other words, making a bad choice as to how to spend our valuable selling time.

The first thing I did this morning as I wrote this tip was to gather up all of the pieces of paper containing random thoughts and messages that were scattered all over my desk, review each one, and then throw them out. This left me with one very long list of tasks.

But…

Are all of these tasks worth doing?

I know you do this. We all do. We are busy with the project and then something comes to mind and we say, “That’s a good idea. I should do that!” Subsequently, we write it down somewhere (or perhaps added to our device). The sales mind is constantly churning and kicking out ideas and reminders and new prospects and “don’t forget’s” and “I forgot” and …

This is what I want you to do today …

1. Take a look at your master task list;
2. Delete or cross out anything that’s been sitting there for over a month;
3. Delete or cross out anything you just know you’re never going to get to;
4. Circle or highlight up to five things on that list you will complete before week's end.

Call it your summer cleaning. A task list becomes an anchor you drag around. It follows you home at night. It weighs on you during the day you are constantly reminded of the things you haven’t done.

Lighten this load by being an assassin and killing off the nonessential, those tasks that populate your mind like a container of moldy yogurt sitting in the back of your refrigerator.

Looking around my desk, it is now clear of notes … and ready for me to start the cycle all over again!

Looking for more time management tips? Become a Sales Vault Insider and register for the Time Management Basics course to be held this Thursday, August 5. Go to BilFarquharson.com and sign up. Want to kick the tires first? Use the coupon code MYFREETRIAL and get it for free!  Visit BillFarquharson.com/try-before-you-buy to learn more.