Sales people do too many things besides sell. In most of my clients’ organizations, they have to. My clients are not publicly traded billion dollar businesses. They’re typically independent security integration companies where everyone has to wear multiple hats. In sales, that can mean a ton of different things that can lead to a whole lot of non-selling time. What can you do?
Strategy #3 in becoming a more efficient sales person: Outsource everything that isn’t leading to sales.
When I started my career in sales, a mentor of mine told me to outsource everything in my life that didn’t help me become a better sales person. Although I couldn’t afford it, I paid people to do everything for me while I spent every waking moment improving my craft. I actually had a laundry service. I was broke, but I broke out the Discover card every Friday and picked up my laundry. It paid off. Within nine months, I was killing it. Within twelve months, all of my credit card debt was gone. Life was good. What should’ve taken me two to three years was achieved in less than one year… because I spent every moment I had focused on activity that was going to make me better.
Expense reports, proposal beautification, data entry, dry cleaning, holiday cards, mailers, lawn service, grocery shopping, etc., etc., etc. Don’t do any of these things. Get someone else in your organization or pay someone else to do them. Yes, pay out of your own pocket. First of all, the time you save is worth 10x the price it’ll cost you. Second, if you can’t expense it, you can write it off on your taxes. Don’t get bitter if your company won’t pay for these services – it’s not part of their cost structure and probably outside their consideration of what a business should do. That’s ok – these ideas are not normal, but they’re so effective.
What do you think? What’s the first thing you’re going to outsource?
