One also needs to look at the overall environment to make sure it is organized properly. Common files in the computer system should be labeled correctly and filed appropriately so that any staff member can find it. The management of the computer files should be delegated to one specific person so that a consistent organizational method is followed at all times. By giving all documents to this person for filing, you are ensuring that consistent standards are being met, saving valuable time for everyone.

The administrative department plays a crucial role to the overall productivity of the staff. Forms, contracts, etc. should be kept up to date so that the employees are consistently using the correct forms. Filing should be completed daily to assure everything is in its correct place and is current.

2. Are you following an effective routine?
Once you have adopted an effective system – be sure to use it consistently. When it becomes a routine, you save time by focusing on the project versus wasting time focusing on the means to accomplish it. Don’t feel you need to reinvent the wheel when adopting routines. When you find a way that works – keep it – and make sure all staff members do the same.

3. Do you have a structured schedule?
Following a somewhat structured schedule is best in order to stay focused on your tasks and goals while also measuring your achievements. By keeping a daily log of these, you are able to review the week’s progress and assess how successful you are towards accomplishing your goals. You will also be able to see where you are wasting valuable time if you log everything that you do in a day. By doing this for a week, you will quickly see where your time is challenged. It’s quite common to set out wanting to accomplish 5 goals for the day. But at the end of the day, you see only 3 goals accomplished and feel like a failure, wondering what happened with your time. The culprit can be due to other tasks that evolve, taking precedence over your original goals. By logging these “unexpected occurrences”, you will have a clearer picture of your time management and will then feel more productive. It’s also wise to allocate time for these occurrences if they happen regularly. By scheduling out time on a daily basis to manage the unexpected tasks, you will feel more in control and less reactive.

4. Are your employees working to the best of their abilities?
Many companies make the mistake of delegating tasks to employees who are overqualified for the project. When delegating jobs to employees, it is important to take into account the person’s role within the company and their pay scale. It isn’t good business sense to be delegating a $10.00 per hour task to a $25.00 per hour employee. Time is a valuable commodity that needs to be treated appropriately in order for you to get the most “bang for your buck”. When you organize the employees in this way, you will be better equipped to work at 100% capacity.

5. Do you offer a healthy balance of work and down time?
While I don’t recommend structuring your work environment in a hard core style, it does need to be structured enough to achieve maximum productivity. One of the common mistakes in work productivity is in having a workhorse mentality. There is a delicate balance between working to capacity and working to death. The most productive workers are those who are balanced with social, relaxation and work time. When you take the time to eat lunch, socialize with co-workers and accomplish your tasks, you feel a sense of achievement and will be more motivated to work. Employees who work long hours without breaks and/or social time will quickly feel drained and burned out with their work and will be less motivated to tackle projects.

By focusing on the steps above, you will be able to better understand how effective your staff is in managing their time and working at maximum capacity.

Continued Success,

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS President – Executive Coach

www.LeadMeToSucceed.com

1. Salespeople trying to sell you something they want to sell versus selling you something you want to buy.
2. Salespeople that tell you what you can and cannot do or buy.
3. Salespeople that do not believe that you are interested in buying (or buying today) and therefore do not take you seriously.
4. Salespeople that pre-judge orpre-qualify you before they find out anything about you.
5. Salespeople that talk and sell before asking questions and listening, which would have allowed them to find out what it is that you really want or need.

There are a lot of very good salespeople that commit some very common mistakes. The easiest way to prevent making these mistakes is to not only analyze our defeats but to also analyze our victories. We can learn a lot from both transactions of the things we did right along with the things we care not to repeat. One way to evaluate this is to see it through the eyes of the consumer and consider how they felt during the process. The customers that felt that their salesperson listened to their wants and needs is usually presented a solution to the problem that fits, and therefore a sale is made. Listed above is a list of some of the most common “turnoffs” that customer’s state about salespeople. You will see there is a common theme throughout the 5 turn offs that center around listening to the customer. This requires the salesperson to ask a question then remain quiet, allowing the customer to respond. When salespeople spend the time to find out the wants and needs of the customers the sales process becomes a lot easier for both the salesperson and the customer.
“In the world of sports you look for your opponent’s weakness and exploit it however, in the world of selling you look for the prospects weakness so you can strengthen it by selling them your goods or services”.

- Zig Ziglar

Strong Selling,