Bill Zimmerman's Weekly Tip - 3 Ways to Better Manage Your Time

I hope you've had a productive, focused week so far in real estate. Spring can be a busy time of year in our businesses, so I thought this would a good time to get "back to the basics" of time management.

Enjoy and learn from today's tip:

CAN YOU SPARE SOME TIME?



What sales rep really can? There never seems to be enough time, does there? Time is like water: You can’t expand or contract it, but you can control it.



Here are three ways to save time that you might not have considered before:



1. B E C O M E A W H I Z A T P R E - C A L L P L A N N I N G

When pursuing a new prospect, you usually have to “experiment” with a number of calls to learn the approach that stands the best chance of getting the business. You can save time and grief by doing that research before making the first call. Follow these guidelines:

· Get all the information you can on the person who has the authority to buy, the status of the organization he or she represents, and the credit rating of the company.

· Determine in advance what special problems exist.

· Try to determine, at least roughly, the size of the orders you should try to get.

· Know who the prospect’s competitors are.



2. M E A S U R E I N T E R M S O F G O A L S

Instead of thinking of time in terms of hours and minutes, start measuring in terms of objectives. Think of time in terms of “phone calls,” “sales,” “goals,” and “people”. Then divide up the day accordingly. Thinking of your day in terms of objectives helps “get the clock off your back.” It also makes time really count by helping you optimize productivity.



Be careful, though, not to overload yourself. Know your physical limitations. For example, line up phone calls according to their importance each day. Relegate the calls which are not essential to your goals to another day.



Before you dial the phone to talk to the customer, ask yourself, “What’s the purpose of this call?” Do you want the customer to agree to a meeting or to pay a late invoice? Knowing what objective you’re after will help you keep your conversations focused a lead you to the results you target.



3. K E E P U P W I T H P A P E R W O R K

Most sales reps don’t like paperwork, so don’t feel bad if you’re not particularly fond of it either. But, like it or not, it has to be done. You already know how paperwork has a way of piling up!



We all postpone things we don’t like doing. But you can overcome this tendency to procrastinate by looking at the paperwork chore as a series of small chores. Handle it a bit at a time throughout the week.



Many successful sales reps have found they can keep the paperwork mountain under control by setting aside an hour at the end of each day to tackle it. Other reps find that spending a few minutes after each call on the task keeps the paperwork from piling up.



The key is to realize that paperwork is not something that will go away but will only get worse the longer it’s postponed. Once you accept paperwork as an integral part of your job, you’re halfway done.

I look forward to working with you and your clients this spring. Call anytime!

Your Partner in Greater Success,

Bill Zimmerman

www.ForIdahoRealtors.com