Most Salespeople Lose Money Wasting Time

I just posted a rant on another site about this – the fact that so many businesspeople, and salespeople in particular, waste unacceptable amounts of time doing menial tasks that should be outsourced to someone else.

Many years ago while still in sales, I read the book Walk Like A Giant, Sell Like A Madman by Ralph Roberts. While the book was full of good all-around sales advice, the part that really stuck with me was towards the end of the book, where Mr. Roberts talks about what the very best salespeople do to make so much money: They outsource menial, non-critical work to other people.

I took that advice to heart, and before I knew it, my time was no longer bogged down with menial tasks and instead I spent 100% of my days picking up checks and signed contracts.

What did these tasks include? They ranged from basic marketing, like stuffing & mailing envelopes, to following up with prospects, to making phone calls to set and confirm appointments, to following up after the sale.

In between would include writing proposals, since most follow the same general format and only differ in the specific solution offered and the profit justification data used to sell that solution.

Take a look at your typical day and think about how you’re spending it.

Start one morning with a blank pad of paper, and write down every single thing you do throughout the day.

Then, that evening, review the list and identify each and every task and activity that someone else could do for you, with fair pay of course.

It’s also beneficial to use that list and your day’s schedule to identify how much time you lost that would have been better spent face-to-face with qualified prospects who are ready, willing, and able to buy.

(This exercise is also beneficial in realizing how much time you waste altogether every day – and believe me, we all do it!)

Once you’ve completed this, you now have a list of tasks you can outsource, whether it’s to a friend or child locally, or to a virtual assistant in India you find on Elance.com.

Outsourcing is not just critical for businesses – it’s critical for salespeople too, and once you begin, your productivity, sales, and income will rise to heights you’d never dreamed possible!