This morning at the breakfast joint, I was thinking about
how many hours I actually put in in a week. Usually I don't
think about this, because if you love what you do, it really
isn't work.
One thing I can tell you is that I don't spend all my time
on the phone making calls. I don't start my day at the
crack of dawn either. The are some sales organizations
that force their people to start making calls at 7 AM, take
lunch at 12:15, and call it a day at 6 PM.
You can make some money that way, but that style
doesn't suit me very well. Sometimes, when things
aren't going my way, I don't work harder, I take a day
off. That would send a lot of sales managers blood
pressure through the roof, but it works for me.
For optimum selling, you need to be relaxed, and confident.
Sometimes you can get too keyed up, and you may think
you're doing a bang up job, but the reality is that you aren't.
Your tension shows through to the customer, and they pick
up on it.
Nobody wants to buy from "Nervous Pervis."
There really isn't a concrete answer to the question.
Nells, a friend of mine from way back, used to go over his
weekly quota on Wednesday. He played golf Thursday and
Friday, and this used to drive his sales manager crazy. He
would raise his quota, and Nells would still be ahead of the
game by close of business on Wednesday.
Golf was part of his selling strategy. He made most of his
deals Thursday and Friday, and filled out paperwork Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday.
The sales manager fired Nells. Nells went to work for a
competitor, and took 90% of his business with him. And
then he landed a couple of whales. And you could find him
on the golf course every Thursday and Friday.
Another friend of mine named Ted started work at 5:30 AM.
He finished at 2:30 PM. No ifs, ands, or buts, he was locked
down at 2:30. And get this this, 80% of his business was
done before 10 AM.
It's not how many hours you log. It's how efficient you are
with the time you are doing actual selling. Don't waste an
hour when you can finish in 15 minutes. And don't waste 15
minutes when 2 minutes will do the trick.
The bottom line is dollars, not hours.
I once dropped my largest account after I analyzed it. The
profit margin did not justify the service time it required. Sales
volume is not an indicator of good sales. Large, marginally
profitable deals are often not worth the time and effort required
to see them through.
Once when I was pretty green I made a very large sale. I told
an older salesman about it at lunch. He asked me a question,
"How much did YOU make on the deal?"
Think about that, and you have the answer to the first question.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
The Chairman of the Board
P.S. Optimism continues to run high here at:
thejoanrandallagency.com.
Our clients continue to get more exposure, and make more
money than their competitors. Call 206-407-3124 to find out why.
