Friday Poll: What Is Your Best Tip for Staying Organized and Eff

    • 1373 posts
    September 24, 2015 11:47 PM PDT

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    This week's poll question was inspired by a recent article by sales trainer Mike Brooks, in which he mentions some of the 101 things that a sales rep has to keep up with on a weekly basis:  responding to emails, organizing leads, following up with customers, attending meetings, keeping track of notes, researching prospects, etc. Mike discusses his strategy for staying organized and accomplishing the tasks on his to-do list; the key to his plan is picking the top three priorities for each day, and working on each, without interruption, until the task is complete.

    After reading this article, I wanted to hear from you:

    What is your best tip (or two) for staying organized and efficient, so that you accomplish all that you need to in a week?

    Looking forward to reading your replies!

    • 26 posts
    September 25, 2015 4:46 AM PDT

    I spend a few minutes each morning hand-writing my to do list. By hand-writing it each morning, I am forced to think about each task - if even for a moment. Plus I am able to reorganize as needed and ensure my top priorities are at the top of the list. And unlike digital to-do lists, I can emphasize with colors or underlining and add additional notes as needed. I am fully digital in every other aspect, but I find keeping this task "old-fashioned' yields better results for me.

    • 83 posts
    September 25, 2015 5:24 AM PDT

    I believe it was Andrew Carnegie that paid $25,000 to a consultant who he had hired to help him organize his time.  The consultant's suggestion the AC incorporated was to make a list of things he must accomplish every day in order of priority.  I've personally never found anything that worked better.  Keep your list no longer than about 10 events every day and check them off as you do them.  It works!

    • 5 posts
    September 25, 2015 7:10 AM PDT

    I invested in a database called ACT!. Best thing I ever did. It's about $250 for a single user, so it's not cheap, but having all my contacts and all their information including birthdays, alternate email addresses, etc. makes doing business easy. I can do everything from email and letters (for those rare occasions when I mail something). I combine this with the low tech paper and pen. I prioritize projects each day on paper--short list of 1-5 "goals", then use my database to do the rest. 

    Microsoft Office also has great tools for doing this and it reaches across tablet, PC and smartphone so you can stay organized on the go. 

    I just probably "geek zoned" myself, but thought I'd share. 

    • 4 posts
    September 25, 2015 9:54 AM PDT

    I organize a large convention in addition to being an account executive. It would be easy for things to fall through the cracks while managing so many different tasks, so organization is truly imperative to my success. I've been using a free program called Trello that has worked really well. By using this I can organize tasks of any kind, both immediate and in the future. If I have a client that doesn't need something done for a month, I still put it here, so it doesn't get forgotten. It also provides a great visual tool in taking prospects through the sales process. I uploaded an attachment that shows what the Trello boards look like. I have additional "boards" not shown here for client service tasks, promotion department to dos, billing collections, etc. Trello also has an app, so I can add tasks immediately after an appt or on the go anywhere. I highly recommend it for new and veteran AEs!

    • 180 posts
    September 25, 2015 11:08 AM PDT

    Two things:

    1. I keep a notebook on the coffee table at home, so that each night as ideas come to me or I see someone running spots on TV , I have my list of to-do's to start with each morning.

    2. When a potential client blows me of by saying, "Not now. Call me in March.", I immediatly go to the computer calendar and make a note in next march's page to give them a call. After all, they were expecting me to forget, so I remind them in March that they said to call.

  • September 28, 2015 10:54 AM PDT

    "Synching" ALL of my devices....Every proposal, spec spot that I do on my PST computer, is also on my tablet and phone. ALSO make sure you have a WIFI Hotspot with you at all times....many phones have it, my vehicle does and most cable companies like Time Warner, Comcast also you let you sign onto their networks, if you are a customer. Also, McDonalds and Parena and places like that have Hotspots..( take a break and prospect and update) Remember to have a mobile changing device with you at all times and extra cords. I also have the good old, "Legal Pad" in my bag of tricks~

    I also KEEP an "appointment" with MYSELF every afternoon in Outlook with  a reminder to update my CRM software with Contacts, Copy/ Specs, Traffic, Promo schedules, Proposals to be done and to review any pending business. Then as a Reward... I buy myself a beer~ I have been known to update these items after my morning workout, if I missed it the night before.