SALES SPRINT
The salespeople I speak to tell me that focusing for long periods of time is hard to do , which causes them to not do what needs to be done – or at least less often than they know it needs to be done .
So , I created Sales Sprinting just for them .
Required equipment to get started is minimal : You just need your calendar , and a timer you can set for up to 20 minutes .
YOU MUST BLOCK THE TIME BY ADDING YOUR SPRINTS TO YOUR CALENDAR
If you don ’ t put it on your calendar , you won ’ t do it . Something else will ALWAYS come up .
Also , adding it to your calendar will help others see you are busy , so they won ’ t accidentally make another appointment on top of your sales sprint .
Create a 30-minute calendar appointment with the title being the task you ’ re going to focus on . This will also help you search for it later .
PREP FOR 5 MINUTES
Take 5 minutes of prep time to get your head on straight , to get whatever tools you need ready , to get everything shut down .
MAKE YOURSELF TOTALLY UNAVAILABLE
Turn off the notifications on your smartphone . Turn your ringer off and put the phone in airplane mode – unless you are doing a sprint with something on your phone .
Close your desktop email – unless e-mail is the focus of this sprint . Close every app on your computer that you don ’ t need right now .
If you won ’ t be using your computer , lock the workstation so you won ’ t be tempted by anything else .
And shut your door , hang a sign on your cubicle , or put your headphones on so people don ’ t interrupt you . It ’ s important you stay focused for the full time , or it won ’ t be as effective .
SPRINT : 20 MINUTES You know what to do . Get to work ! Do the task for the full 20 minutes .
Don ’ t do anything else . Keep your head down and do the work . Don ’ t cheat yourself by doing anything else . Focus – and do the work for the full 20 minutes !
STOP ! DO NOT KEEP GOING !
You just sprinted for 20 minutes . Just like if you were running at the gym , you are likely now tired , or at least sick of that task . It ’ s time to …
RECOVER FOR 5 MINUTES
Take 5 minutes and get away from your desk and take a walk around the office , go outside , go stare out the window , whatever you need to do to get your mind off the task you just did .
If you need to do more work , you can do one more cycle for 5-20-5 , and you can do it 2 more times in the afternoon if you did it in the morning , no more than 2 sprints per 4-hour block .
The people I ’ ve trained and coached report getting more done in these 20-minute sprints than they do in half a day of unfocused time .
Some good tasks to do Sales Sprinting with include :
• Catching up on emails
• Filing
• Double checking paperwork
• Reading unread text messages
• Listening to voicemails
• Updating Salesforce
• Checking Slack
CONSIDERING DOING ANOTHER SALES SPRINT ?
Take 5 more minutes and check your notifications ( Slack , Email , phone , whatever ) and see if you have the time to do the Sales Sprint .
It is NOT recommended that you do more than 2 Sales Sprints in a row as you should be going as hard as you can for the entirety of the Sales Sprint . If you need more , you should block MORE TIME on your calendar so you can finish it all . +
Phil Gerbyshak knows sales . He ’ s a sales speaker , a sales executive , a sales expert , a sales leader mentor , a sales podcaster , and a sales coach . Phil has worked in sales , leadership and the digital space for years , starting by selling high-speed Internet when the Internet was using dial-up , was a stockbroker , a software salesman , and has even sold digital advertising .
He ’ s written 6 books , more than 3000 articles , and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal , Daily Globe and Mail , Financial Times , Investor ' s Business Daily , Inc . and many other publications , including earning 3 covers : Speaker Magazine , Marketing Media and Money , and Social Selling Made Easy . People recognize Phil for his personal brand of connection and simplicity , delivered with a smile and some hard-earned swagger . Phil works with businesses to leverage modern selling practices , including social and virtual selling , to increase their profitability , their productivity , and their performance .
PhilGerby . com
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