CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY?

So, how's the free time coming along? Not so good? You're not alone. A recent survey of American workers found that most feel under unusual pressure, especially their time.

Interesting phenomenon. If  most buyers and business owners feel the same time stress we do, it's safe to assume they're not going to be receptive about seeing us.

That's especially true if:
  -We don't offer anything out of the ordinary, or
  -What we have is not a hot issue for them at the moment.

One of the sad results of time stress is that more business is done by phone and e-mail. "Can you send me rates?…..Sure, here you go." We tell ourselves hey, this is great, but what's happening is we're commoditizing ourselves. That's why customers push for lower rates and crunch numbers instead of outcomes.

If our goal is to quote a price to an ongoing customer, that's one thing. If it's to get in there, get them talking, uncover needs, fears and goals, and to compete for their business, that won't happen by e-mail.

The first sale we make is the face-to-face appointment. We've got to sell the value of the time they'll spend with us.

"But WE don't have time either!"
I hear that a lot. I sympathize. "It" is the circle of sales activity. Administrative paperwork, proposal writing, account servicing, many times ad layout and so much more. We've got a ton of demands on our time, just like our customers.

Problems like this are meant to be solved. We're Streetfighters, right? So here are a
couple of strategies for the time-stress dilemma:

1) GET CREATIVE
We really are linear thinkers…seldom considering off-the-wall possibilities. I knew ad sales Streetfighter in Milwaukee who paid a homebound neighbor 'per-lead' to make
initial calls to clarify names/spellings/positions, etc. Dianne wound up making an extra $1000 a month in commissions and it only cost her about fifty. Nice ROI. Get creative. Consider options. You can do the same with database entries, postcard mailings and even Internet research of your customer's industries.

2) LEARN TO MULTITASK
O.K., that's a 1990's term, but it's true. Do you maximize phone time in the car? Do you update notes (or even your database) while on the phone?   

3) USE SMALL TIME BUCKETS
Fifteen minutes at the start and end of each day equals 2 ½ hours a week for the small stuff. Twenty minutes on a Saturday morning can help get paperwork done…or even phone contacts made (customers working on Saturdays love salesreps who do, too).

Here's one more note on time:
Lack of downtime = burnout = lost revenue and poor customer service.
I've got a wife and four kids. I put in a lot of hours. I do what it takes. But that's after the time I set aside for them. I'm a Streetfighter, but I'm not a fool.