Selling Radio Direct with Pat Bryson

We’ve all heard the saying, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Wise words for anyone in sales….or for anyone wanting to make a difference in their lives. How we spend our “billable hours” determines our paychecks. It also determines much of what we accomplish in life.One of the attributes of great salespeople is a trait we call “urgency”. We test for it in our hiring process. They want it done yesterday….or now at the latest. They never put things off. They make their plan, prioritize their activities and execute the plan.

As salespeople, we keep many plates spinning wildly at all times. We need to be able to multi-task, and we need to get things done. Today is better than tomorrow.

Sometimes, however, getting things done is interrupted by another activity that we call “procrastination”. I’m sure none of my readers have EVER been guilty of indulging in this activity. But, on the off chance that some of you DO engage in it from time to time, let’s look at some of the major causes of procrastination and how we may avoid them.

• I don’t have time now.
• The task is difficult.
• The task is unpleasant.
• I don’t see why the task is so important.
• It isn’t due for a while.
• I don’t have clear or written goals.
• I’m not organized.
• I have too many interruptions.
• I’m overwhelmed.
• I have too many tasks to choose from.

Sound familiar? If so, the following activities may help you to replace procrastination with positive action:

• Set deadlines.
• Let others know your deadlines.
• Start each day with the most important task on your list.
• Do it once.
• Break down the job into smaller parts.
• Reduce interruptions.
• Eliminate reasons why you can’t get started on the task.
• Create a reward for finishing the task.

It is important to recognize when we procrastinate and why. Spend a week looking at your activities and how quickly you get them done. What do you do instead of doing what you should? Once you’ve identified the problem, you can take steps to get things done NOW rather than later. Life gets a lot easier when we do the important rather than the urgent!

Happy Selling!