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4 Reasons Why Time Blocking Is Essential for Successful Sales People

The Betts Team
March 19, 2020

Successful sales people require more than just efficient time management skills. To maintain solid business relationships and continue to make more, successful sales people need to take full advantage of the workday. Many use a process called time blocking to ensure they’re making the best use of their time. Time blocking delineates chunks of time dedicated to individual projects. Below are four reasons why time blocking is essential for successful sales people.

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You prioritize

In sales, understanding which calls or emails to make first can help move potential clients through a pipeline much faster.

Being forced to write out your to-do list on a calendar requires you to prioritize. It teaches you to learn how to appropriately estimate the amount of time needed to complete a project. Consciously thinking about the flow of work that you need to finish allows you to always work on the most important project. In sales, understanding which calls or emails to make first can help move potential clients through a pipeline much faster. It can also keep you from missing out on time-sensitive opportunities. While writing out a to-do list is a great step for any position, overlaying these activities on a timeline is crucial for successful sales people.

You get more done

Tracking your day allows you to utilize every minute. Time blocking keeps your schedule accountable and targeted. Instead of wasting time on lower priority projects and uncertainty on where to start, time blocking is a clear roadmap. Following a schedule lets you make the most of your day. If you follow the daily plan you’ve outlined, you’re guaranteed to get more done. Setting time limits, priorities, and personal time focuses your attention on individual activities. This focus helps you work not only faster, but with higher quality.

If you follow the daily plan you’ve outlined, you’re guaranteed to get more done. Setting time limits, priorities, and personal time focuses your attention on individual activities.

You feel accomplished

Time blocking forces you to diligently list out the different duties and projects you need to accomplish. Although this can seem daunting at first, it actually helps you realize the amount of work you are completing. By the end of the workweek, time blocking lets you look back and see all that you completed. It is a representation of your success. While working a fast-paced job in a sales position, you can often lose sight of the victories you make daily. Time blocking not only sets goals, it also keeps track of those you finish. Keeping an eye on the daily successes you complete can help maintain a high level of motivation and productivity. Instead of focusing on a generic to-do list you have to do, seeing different activities given their own time to be achieved can help you focus and move forward while retaining the same feeling of checking something off.

You make “me” time

Taking “me” time is a habit of all successful sales people. Time blocking can help you avoid overworking or missing crucial breaks and thus lowering your quality of work.

Lastly, the more your day is scheduled, the more important it becomes to set out time for yourself. If you give yourself an hour for lunch every day while still getting more done, you’re more likely to not eat at your desk. Setting aside time for personal activities like coffee with friends, yoga before work, or vacations is crucial to having work-life balance. Taking “me” time is a habit of all successful sales people. Time blocking can help you avoid overworking or missing crucial breaks and thus lowering your quality of work. Give your body and mind enough time to rest. The time blocking process helps keep you accountable for every aspect of your life instead of just managing your work to-do list. Find out what helps keep you motivated throughout the workweek and schedule those activities in every day.