2019 in Four Chunks

The most important part of time management is preparation. You need to be constantly thinking ahead to the next day, the next week, where you are in the month, and even where you are in the selling cycle. With that in mind, I offer you these thoughts…

If you are reading this blog on or near the date of its release, Nov. 5, 2019, you should think of the rest of the year in four chunks, creating a plan for each so as to constantly make the best use of your time.

Chunk #1: The three full weeks remaining between now, and the week that includes Thanksgiving (that's the week of Nov. 25, for those of you outside of these United States)

Chunk #2: The week that includes Thanksgiving

Chunk #3: The three full weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Chunk #4: The time between Christmas and New Year's Day

These are four unique spans of time. These are the kinds of conversations I get into in my weekly coaching calls, and this is the advice I give my clients:

1. Press the sales gas pedal to the floor for the next three weeks;
2. Be thinking about the best use of the (typically) slow days the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. What kinds of things could you do that, while neither urgent nor important (as Stephen Covey would say), might still benefit your sales? Could you learn more about LinkedIn? Could you learn more about your CRM? Could you create some success YouTube videos that help explain what you do? Marketing is the new sales, kids. It would be nice to get your phone ringing for a change. Use these days to create some marketing material;
3. Think about the accounts you might want to visit before the end of the year. This third chunk of time is perfect for that kind of thing. In addition, you want to start thinking about 2020 and making a plan;
4. At the same time, be thinking about the days surrounding Christmas and leading up to New Year’s. Similar to Thanksgiving week, what is the best use your time? What do you wish you had done during this unique time of year that, come January and Q1, you won’t have time for?

So, there’s some food for thought. Sit with a blank pad of paper and put some action items on a list. Then, engage. Good time management starts with a plan. What’s yours?

If you want to sell more in less time, go to BillFarquharson.com and click on the “Training” link in the header. If you need sales and want ideas for gaining more appointments, buy my book, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever! on Amazon.