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When I started my sales career, I was able to stay organized in sales by keeping everything in my head. I knew who I needed to call, what meetings I had, new leads I had to follow-up on… I thought my system was ideal.
And then one day, I forgot to send a proposal to a key customer and missed out on a big deal.
What I’ve learned since then is that sales isn’t just about being a great listener or using the Jedi Mind Trick , but a lot of success is dependent on simple things, like having the ability to stay organized.
Being a great salesperson isn’t just about being persuasive, it’s about being on top of everything that’s going on.
It you want to succeed at sales, use these 6 tips to help organize your sales life.
1. Make a list of everyone you need to call – everyday!
Start your day with a detailed list of every prospect and customer you need to reach that day. Make sure you include notes from your last contact with them, and bullet points on what you hope to achieve on your call. Right after you get off the phone, type up notes on how it went, next steps, and schedule a next time to reach out. Getting this done while everything is fresh in your mind will help you stay super organized.
2. Keep important dates on your calendar
Your calendar should be completely up to date and available to you on all your devices. If you have a proposal due, then put that as an event on your calendar to remind you about it. Take a look at your calendar first thing in the morning and organize your thoughts before your day gets going.
3. Have contact information always available
Having a list of all the customers you need to call is step one in helping organize your day. But, it’s pretty useless if you don’t have that contact information readily available. Many salespeople are out of the office often, but you still need to be making your follow up calls. To help organize your sales life, have all of your contact’s phone numbers and emails on your phone, so you can get your calls done while on the road.
4. Get your emails in order
Time management is a key component of being organized. It’s a time saver to incorporate email templates into your outreach efforts. If you have a stellar email that is performing well, then save it as a template and re-use that email for other prospects. Be sure to track effectiveness and don’t be discouraged if you have to reach out multiple times before your email is responded to.
5. Jump on leads right away
According to InsideSales.com, “following up with web leads within 5 minutes makes you 9 times more likely to engage with them.” Sales reps need to be jumping on leads fast! But to be able to do this, you have to get organized. Make sure you have in place a system that delivers your leads immediately and allows you one-click dialing to reach those prospects right from the screen you are on. Ideally, your CRM will also automatically record your notes, to help keep you organized for the next time you follow-up with this prospect.
6. Confirm all upcoming meetings
As we all know in sales, time is money. Sitting around waiting on a meeting that isn’t going to happen means you are missing out on calling another customer that could potentially land you a big deal. One way to combat this problem is to always confirm your upcoming meetings. Get yourself organized by having your system prompt you in advance to re-confirm all sales demos and meetings. Getting organized will help you to not waste time for a call that isn’t going to happen.
Use technology to stay organized
There are lots of great, cost-effective solutions out there that can help you stay organized. Spiro , for instance, uses artificial intelligence to recommend which of your prospects you should call each day so that you will have the highest likelihood of turning it into a closed deal. Other salespeople I know use tools like Wunderlist or Evernote .
Staying organized is a constant battle, but I can tell you from experience that the more organized you are, the bigger your commission checks will be.