6 Powerful Strategies for Boosting Productivity and Staying Ahead of Your Competition

Sales has never been known to lack competitive spirit. That being said, as competition continues to heat up, finding ways to gain a competitive edge is more important than ever before.

Through our extensive research, we have identified the following six critical pointers to help you maximize productivity, improve results faster and take your sales career to the next level.

1. Embrace modern technology to keep track of details

Some sales reps are reluctant to use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) applications and miss out on the opportunity to become more organized, better manage their portfolio and track customer data more efficiently. They believe such a system is too transparent, may potentially expose their failures and mistakes, and undermine their chances of getting ahead. Others are under the mistaken belief that technology makes things more complicated and think that it will take a long time to fully embrace all aspects of a CRM, in order to use it to their advantage.

Savvy sales professionals should tap into all the technical tools at their disposal and learn how to use a CRM for managing, improving and enhancing daily customer interactions. In addition, it’ll help sales professionals become more organized and automate and synchronize such activities as sales, marketing, customer service and technical support. What’s more, a CRM provides in-depth metrics to evaluate sales results, predict growth, demonstrate new trends, and identify areas for improvement, among other things.

Simply put, the value of a CRM is undeniable. Sales reps who overcome their fears and learn how to benefit from the latest technology, are well on their way of delivering bigger, better and more impressive results and getting the recognition they deserve.

2. Learn how to organize your email inbox

When you come to work early in the morning, knowing that you have a long and busy day ahead of you, it is crucial that you start your day off on the right foot and get organized immediately. Instead of amassing mountains of emails, adapt an Inbox Zero policy and set up a time to clean up your mailbox. While it may seem like a tedious activity, it’ll save you a lot of time in the long run. Furthermore, it’s a good way to make sure you don’t forget to address important emails; or worse, miss certain messages completely.

Separate private, internal or travel-related emails and create labels for each category. Take advantage of the “archive” feature in Outlook where you can store all the messages you have reviewed or responded to. Also, you should use special applications such as Mailbox to postpone the arrival of unwanted or unimportant emails. This way you will stay laser-focused on more urgent and critical tasks.

3. Clearly identify your ideal customer

Another good reason to embrace the CRM is because the latest technology enables you to run regular reports based on your past sales and pinpoint the most common traits and characteristics among your customers. This important profiling technique will help you tighten your lead selection criteria, prioritize your leads and effectively navigate your target market.

4. Create a to-do list by the end of the day

Before you go home at the end of the day, make sure you prepare your “to-do list” for tomorrow, outlining your objectives and specific course of action. This simple yet smart strategy will help you stay on target, manage your time more effectively and start off your day with a bang, instead of spinning your wheels and scrambling to get the ball rolling. Whether you think of yourself as a morning or an afternoon person, effective to-do lists crafted in advance will keep you focused and on track, and guide you towards increased productivity.

5. Find a sales coach to maximize performance

Let’s face it: even the most productive, energetic and efficient sales professionals need regular coaching and support to stay motivated and stay in shape. In fact, effective sales coaching can not only inspire sales reps to enhance their skills and accomplish more, but also guide them towards superior sales performance and, ultimately, transform their careers. To ensure optimum sales results for every sales team, a Janek Sales Coach equips every participant with the most essential tools, knowledge and techniques they need to explore real-world solutions, promptly address potential challenges and generate long-standing professional relationships with customers. Therefore, if your sales reps don’t have a coach they could turn to for support, finding the right sales coaching program can make a difference between achieving enormous success and falling short.

6. Avoid unnecessary meetings

Without a doubt, time is the most crucial currency in your professional life. While it is hard to resist the temptation to join the upcoming get-together and have another chat with your colleagues or supervisors, the amount of time you spend with your leads is of the utmost importance. Simply put, some meetings may not be worth your time. If you feel like you need to know what transpires during each meeting, you may request notes with the most important details and keep them on file for future purposes.

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