How Identity Management Sales Can Manage Time More Effectively

It is harder than ever to be a salesperson today. Thanks to the Internet, buyers have a wealth of information at their disposal and use it to comparison shop for a long time before committing to a purchase.

Email inquiries, phone calls, and web form data all have to be addressed promptly or else a potentially lucrative opportunity is lost.

With so many important tasks competing for their attention simultaneously, identity management sales and biz dev reps need to know how to prioritize tasks and better manage their time. Here are some time-saving ideas that can boost productivity and maximize effectiveness in sales.

Limit Time Spent on Low ROI Tasks

When it comes to sales, all tasks have a certain level of importance, but some have low ROI (return on investment) compared to others. Sales reps need to itemize all jobs and responsibilities relevant to their role and list them in order of ROI.

Activities at the bottom should be allocated in less time if at all possible, or grouped to limit the time they do consume. Examples include email sorting and cold calls (which have a low ROI among today’s consumers).

Streamline Repetitive Activities

Many sales activities are repetitive in scope, although it may not appear to be the case on the surface. Identity management sales and biz dev reps target a specific type of client, so the majority of inbound queries will be similar to the information they are seeking.

Although sales communications should not be 100% scripted, sales personnel can put together a core set of email responses and personalize them as required, dispensing with the need to type original replies to each and every inquiry.

Prospect on Schedule

For a sales rep, prospecting should be ingrained for it to become a habit. Just as meetings are scheduled, time needs to be set aside to specifically act on prospects and leads submitted by the marketing department.

Routine and scheduled prospecting and lead follow-up will keep the sales pipeline flowing and make time available for other important tasks.

Stay Focused

Multi-tasking is a business-world buzzword that needs to lose its buzz. According to the Journal of Experimental Psychology, productivity can be lowered by up to 40% if a person tries to do more than one thing at the same time. When something takes more than five minutes to complete, time should be specifically allocated to getting it done.

Once these priorities and activities are established, management sales and biz dev reps must stick to them and resist the disruptions that challenge their commitment to better time management. Exceptions can be made, but afterward, it is important to get back on track immediately. Once a time management tip becomes a habit, a sales rep has a greater chance of excelling at their job.

Bottom Line

‘Time is money’ is such a universal catchphrase that today it is practically a sales mantra. Allocating too much attention to one prospect could potentially cause a salesperson to miss another connection that might have developed into a profitable relationship.

Better time management strategies can enable management sales and biz dev reps to concentrate on activities that bring the company forward while making time for those that sustain it.

Does your identity management firm struggle with time efficiency? Let us know in the Comments below.

To learn more about how identity management sales and biz dev reps can better manage their time, be sure to watch the free, on-demand “Identity Management Revenue Growth Acceleration Q&A Webinar”.