5 Ways Salespeople Waste Time & How to Use it Wisely

Posted August 15, 2023 in Sales Brew

Why Salespeople Waste Time

Today’s Sales Brew is brought to you by Mark Trinkle and covers what he believes are the 5 ways salespeople waste time. Let’s start using our time more wisely!

5 ways salespeople waste time; their most precious commodity

If you enter a career in sales, you know that you’re going to have to work hard. We know that most salespeople don’t mind working hard, and that it will help them achieve their goals. Salespeople also understand that there’s going to be some disappointment along the way- it’s inevitable. Sometimes you may think that you’re going to win a deal, only to have the rug pulled out from underneath you. We’ve all experienced this at some point in our sales careers.

Salespeople also understand that there’s going to be rejection. In our world, you must be able to deal with rejection. There is one thing that I don’t think salespeople should be okay with, and that is wasting their time. None of us want to spend a lot of time trying to chase an opportunity, only to find out that we never really had a chance to win the deal. Let’s find a solution to this problem. Here are the top five ways salespeople waste time.

#1: They think in terms of hours

Salespeople don’t have a proper view of time. This means that they tend to overestimate the value of an hour, and they underestimate the value of minutes. Even if you have 5, 10, or 15 minutes, you have the time to get something cooking. I recently read an article on the habits of uber-successful people, and the key takeaway is that they value minutes. They think in terms of minutes. They don’t think in terms of hours.

For example, most salespeople would think, “Well, I’ve got a meeting starting in 10 to 15 minutes. You know what? I might as well not start something new before my meeting.” This is when we need to think in terms of minutes, not in terms of hours. With your extra 10-15 minutes, open up your CRM, find a contact, and make a phone call. They’re probably not going to answer anyway.

#2: They’re not leveraging CRM

If you’re fortunate enough to have a CRM, use it! It’s not there for upper management to look over your shoulder. It’s there as a tool for you to become more efficient and effective at selling. Don’t waste your CRM. Take the time to absorb yourself in it. Make sure you’ve gone through the training so that you can use it quickly and effectively.

#3: They’re not following a schedule

The third place where I see salespeople wasting time is when they’re not loyal to their schedule, when they become very prone to interruptions. The thought of turning off the notifications on their phone and putting themselves in an office to just make phone calls for an hour is foreign to them. By the way, I call that the hour of power. Can you be loyal to your schedule, and will you schedule prospecting time and not allow anything to interfere with it? (Within reason, of course.) Just because your phone dings, and the light starts to glow on your laptop, doesn’t mean that you have to stop what you’re doing. A lot of effectiveness can be lost when you try to shift from one priority to another.

#4: They’re afraid to “go for the no.”

Here’s number four: they don’t go for the no. They think that “no” is an unhealthy word. I think “no” is a fantastic word, depending where in the sales process you hear it. Are you willing to ask the tough, penetrating, probing questions? Are you willing to be consultative? So that if it’s not an opportunity, you learn this right up front. Remember, the best day to lose a sale is the first day. And the next best day is today.

#5: They don’t ask for the business

I hate to say it, but they just don’t ask for the business. They don’t plan to ask for the business. They don’t execute a pre-call plan. And because they don’t do that, they go on calls and things get missed. They miss decision makers, and they miss other priorities. They’re not asking the questions they need to ask. And probably it’s because they’re not planning to ask.

You can do a lot of things, just don’t waste your time! I hope you learned from my 5 ways salespeople waste time. Thanks for reading. Go have a great day.

Mark Trinkle
Chief Growth Officer