Why a Strong Routine is Essential for Sales Success

Do you have a strong routine or are you a business card shuffler?

If you’ve never done it before, you’ll no doubt know somebody who has. A salesperson sits at his desk, paralyzed by the fear of rejection, perhaps even just too lazy to pick up the phone. Business cards sit in a tantalizingly untidy pile at the end of the desk. You better believe they’re in for a good shuffle prior to any calls being made.

We’d like to offer you a challenge in this blog. If you can see even the remotest bit of logic or value in the following post, commit to sticking to a routine, for 4 weeks and see your results at the end.

Having a steady routine focuses you on one task at a time, allowing you to execute it regularly, effectively and in a way which can be easily monitored to spot room for improvement. If you set aside a block of time to do a specific sales task, you’ll focus yourself on achieving that task and you won’t have time to shuffle anything unnecessarily, business cards or otherwise.

Prospecting Comes First

Prospecting should always be at the forefront of your routine considerations. Whether you find it best to prospect weekly or daily, a certain time should be set aside for this task and done without fail. If you’re enjoying a period of good sales, don’t think it’s okay to drop the ball and slack off with your prospecting or you won’t be winning any Cadillac prizes next month.

When I was still on the sales front line, I’d be at my desk by 8:00am every morning, ready to make the first call and I wouldn’t move until 11:30, by which time I’d aim to have the following morning full of appointments. I wouldn’t agree to any meetings, appointments or anything else which distracted me between 8:00 and 11:30. 

How to Use a Routine to Avoid Bad Habits 

This is the power of the routine and you avoid bad habits because you’ve got targets to hit. If you commit to your schedule and to avoid all paperwork oriented tasks until Friday afternoon, you’ll simultaneously avoid the all-too-tempting Friday-afternoon slump. 

Another good example is the watercooler. The watercooler has become a metaphor synonymous with time wasting and you can bet that people with schedules don’t spend so much time chatting with Joey about the latest episode of The Voice. There are appointments to book up for tomorrow’s schedule. 

The Best-Kept Secret of Successful Salespeople 

Here’s a secret for you. When it comes to routines, top salespeople don’t wing it these days. They know exactly what they’re going to do throughout the day before they’ve so much as started eating their Cheerios in the morning. They have a schedule made up of smaller individual routines. They have routines for the way they travel, they have routines for the way they talk to their prospects and clients, they have routines for filtering out ready-to-buy prospects they’ll book meetings with rather than just sitting down with anybody. Try using a schedule for four weeks, stick to it and the question won’t be whether or not your commission increases, it will be by how much. Good luck.

In conclusion, having a strong routine is essential for success in sales. It allows you to focus on one task at a time, execute it regularly, and monitor your progress for improvement. By committing to a routine for four weeks and prioritizing prospecting, you can avoid bad habits and increase your chances of success. Top salespeople have multiple routines in place for different aspects of their job, and by following their lead, you too can achieve success in sales. So challenge yourself to stick to a routine and see the positive results for yourself.