Time. Almost every seller and sales leader has time issues. There’s just not enough time to get everything done—especially at the end of the month with the pressure of getting sales in, getting paperwork caught up, and getting the pipeline beefed up for the coming month.
Many of us find ourselves spending a good deal of time trying to figure out how to squeeze out a few more minutes here, an extra hour there, or another day every week. Our lives seem to be nothing but a continual struggle against the clock.
Robert W. Bly’s, Make Every Second Count; Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success with Less Stress (Career Press: 2010) gives some relevant advice and guidance, yet so much of the book is simply filler that it makes it difficult to decide whether or not to recommend the book—at least half of your money is wasted due to the non-productive junk stuffed into the book.
That being said, there is valuable material here. In the first chapter Bly gives 10 tips to help you work better and save time. Although some of the tips are common sense, some such as not being a perfectionist and not trying to be an innovator with every project are not only valuable but deal with some of the biggest time management issues many of us face. Perfectionism and innovation is overrated most of the time.
Do we need to be competent? Yes. Do we need to be thorough? Yes. Do we need to be perfect with every task? No. Nevertheless, many of us believe that perfection is the desired goal in everything we do. That goal of perfection limits both the amount of work we can accomplish and ultimately our ability to succeed.
Likewise, many believe that being an innovator in everything they do is critical to their success. That insistence on innovation costs more time and effort than it is worth. We lose by trying to win.
If like many sellers you travel a lot, Bly’s chapter on saving time—and money—while traveling is also helpful. Again, although a good many of the tips are simply common sense and any experienced traveler will have figured them out, there are still a number of ideas that can help save you time, money and energy. If you’re a relatively new salesperson or have just begun traveling heavily, Bly’s travel tips will be particularly helpful.
The chapters on delegation and outsourcing and the use of technology to increase productivity also have some useful ideas. Again, as with the tips on travel, these chapters will be most useful for newer sellers and sales managers.
If you’re having time management issues and need some quick ideas to help you get organized and to get your clock in order, Make Every Second Count is worth the $10 or so you’ll pay. If you really need serious time management help, you’ll need to look elsewhere as you’ll find this work to be too basic.
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