Time Mapping: Finding More Time = Finding More Sales

Have you ever heard your salespeople say: “I would make more calls, but I don’t have the time”? Or perhaps, you have thought “I want to ride-along with my team on more sales calls, but I just don’t have enough time.”

Time mapping is an essential skill for salespeople and sales managers. What is time mapping?

Time mapping is the process of blocking-out time in your schedule for tasks essential to accomplishing your goals. It is a “map” for how you would like each week to look from an activity standpoint. It can be done on a piece of paper or in excel.

First, you need to decide on your goals and the weekly actions you need to take to accomplish those goals. For example: my goal is to close 5 new accounts per week. I know, based on my closing ratio I need to book 10 sales presentations per week, and it will take me ten phone calls to book each appointment. I also need to make 10 client visits and respond to client calls and emails throughout the week.

Next, block out time on your time map for these activities to be accomplished throughout the week. By planning these activities in blocks of time, you eliminate the wasting of time that occurs by switching between tasks. Simply create a time map on an excel spreadsheet or write it down. For example, Monday morning, you might have 8:00AM until 11:30 AM for booking appointments with prospective Customers. Then you might plan 11:30AM until Noon to respond to customer emails and voicemails. You might have the Afternoon blocked out for client visits. Tuesday, you might have sales presentations with prospective clients blocked out for the whole day with specific times blocked out to respond to client voicemails and emails. Continue blocking out time throughout the rest of the week to make sure you have time reserved to accomplish all the actions you need to take to achieve your goals.

Finally, stick to your time map and resist the urge to deviate from your plan. It will be tempting to answer phone calls and emails while you are, for example, "cold-calling" prospective clients. In your time map, create time-blocks to respond to email and voicemail. During time-blocks on your time map where you have planned to execute cold-calling or some other high-value activity, put your phone and email on “do not disturb” and focus on the task at hand. Then, in the times you have blocked for reacting to voicemail and email, you can respond to those inquiries. By focusing on your critical activities in blocks of time, you will be much more effective, preserving valuable time by not switching back-and-forth between tasks.

By mapping your time, you will be surprised by how much time you “find” in your week. Even more surprising to you will be how time-mapping accelerates your sales success.

Good Selling!