Productivity in Sales

10 Tactics to Be More Productive

“To think is easy.

To act is difficult.

To act as one thinks is the most difficult.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It was another article from John Stevenson that provided me the inspiration for this post. John wrote about productivity in a general setting; I would like to explore it more specifically for sales.

John wrote: “Being more productive is not about filling every minute of your day with more stuff, it’s about getting through your day more efficiently which allows for more recovery time, higher quality work and the capacity for unexpected detours or requests.”

This aligns with the definition of productivity, which centers around efficiency: "Productivity describes various measures of the efficiency of production. Often, a productivity measure is expressed as the ratio of aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production process, i.e., output per unit of input, typically over a specific period of time.”

Following this, sales productivity is typically measured in sales revenue per salesperson, individually and as an average over a team. This is a straightforward approach that can be further enhanced by including factors like, e.g., hours worked, profitability, percent of target, or lead conversation.

Any productivity number is then viewed over time to see daily, weekly, or monthly fluctuations, which then leads to measures to increase productivity: increase the output (“revenue”) while keeping the input constant, or possibly reduce it (“time”).

Here are 10 tactics to increase productivity in sales:

1. Batch and shorten meetings. We are 22% less productive in the 2 to 3 hours leading up to a meeting, so try to bunch them all together – and keep them to one hour or less per topic – so you leave large blocks of time before or after open. Large blocks of meeting-free times help you stay focused and get more done. (John Stevenson)

2. Evaluate your tech stack (leverage the right sales productivity tools). When it comes to boosting sales productivity on your team, the biggest gains stand to come from re-evaluating the tools your sales team uses on a daily basis—and gauge whether or not there's a need to add, substitute, or remove from your arsenal. (Ryan Robinson)

3. Automate, automate, automate! If a machine can do a task just as well as you can, you shouldn’t be doing it. Not only are machines faster, but they’re also more accurate. Common areas to automate include, e.g., appointment scheduling, proposal creation, email sending, alerts, lead status progression. Once you get into automation, the possibilities are endless. The main thing to remember is that simplicity wins. The more complex and confusing your processes are, the more likely it is that small errors could result in downtime and lost productivity. (Nathan Kittrell)

4. Qualify for quality. Sales productivity can skyrocket if salespeople work with quality leads more often. That’s why a lead scoring plan is critical to any organization that wants to improve productivity. Establish a framework to determine the worthiness of leads. You’ll want to assign values based on how they’ve interacted with your organization and how well they fit into your ideal customer profile. Then sales development reps or salespeople are only spending time making contact with qualified leads – and not wasting time sorting through leads that aren’t. (Michelle McGovern)

5. Optimize Your Onboarding. Effective sales training sets your team up for success. Properly onboarding a new employee shortens training time and increases the time they spend doing their job. Your sales training content should be thorough and encompass enough detail for your sales rep. Not only is it valuable to have great training material, but it's also crucial that your new sales rep is reinforcing it with repeated practice. Having experienced salespeople mentor new ones will aid in training and be beneficial to your overall sales process. With your new employees successfully trained, they will be able to use their time more effectively, and in turn, you will see an increase in sales productivity. (Badger)

6. Setting Targets. Sales leaders have traditionally set goals based on upper management's aspirations for the company. Since those ambitions typically reflect shareholder expectations, they can't be ignored. But sales leaders too often apply the targets across every region and segment without gathering the market and competitive data that would make their goals more realistic. Since variations across regions and segments are probable, sales reps often end up with quotas that are unrealistically high or low—either of which can demoralize and demotivate a sales force. (HBR)

7. Delegate high impact, non-urgent activities. The problem: Reps are performing customer-facing activities outside of sales’ specialty when account management, customer service, marketing, and others can execute better. The solution: Drive tight alignment between sales and ancillary teams. Templates and technology let other teams do the heavy lifting so that sales can focus on doing what they do best — selling. (Highspot)

8. Establish a Schedule & Routine. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another. That's the beauty of sales; there's ample opportunity for flexibility and creativity. Improving sales productivity will require salespeople to organize their daily schedule. Once they’ve laid out what needs to be done, it’s about prioritizing those items. They should be encouraged to say no to things that don’t help them meet their ultimate objective. Sales productivity demands a certain level of structure. All of their meetings need to start and end on time. To prioritize, place significant and long-term clients at the top of your list to ensure they are receiving optimal service. New leads should be prioritized after your existing clients because it is better to nurture your existing relationships for long-term growth. (Spotio)

9. Celebrate achieving targets. It is important that you celebrate reaching your set goals and targets. This is to keep you and your sales team motivated and give you a reason to keep working hard. Celebration brings the feeling of excitement at work, which makes hard work feel a little less than work but sheer fun. Don't you think you can go longer when some fun is involved? (Guy Rubin)

10. Batch the time you spend responding to email. If you spend your time constantly interrupted by replying to emails, you’re never going to get your most important work finished. If you use email to do prospecting or follow up with leads, this may not be an option for you. But the principle behind the idea can still work. Instead of using email reactively (whenever you get mail), proactively set aside specific times where you’ll be working on email—and focus on other work at other times. (Benyamin Elias)

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Ryan Robinson – 10 sales productivity tactics to close more deals

Nathan Kittrell - The Ultimate Guide to Sales Productivity

Michelle McGovern - 15 practical ways to boost sales productivity

Badger - 10 Best Ways to Increase Sales Productivity

HBR - The New Science of Sales Force Productivity

Highspot - Top Sales Productivity Strategies to Improve Your Team’s Performance

Spotio - 13 Proven Ways to Increase the Productivity of Your Sales Team

Guy Rubin - 8 Tips to Increase Sales Productivity

Benyamin Elias - 14 Ways to Increase Sales Productivity

Photo by Anne Gosewehr