Off or On?

Salespeople waste an awful lot of time thinking about what they should be doing next. If you have ever kept a Time Log for thirty days you will know what I mean. For these people, even when they are ‘on’, they are ‘off’. Please allow me to explain.

Being in the office does not mean that you are at work. Work is a verb – you DO work, you don’t go there. So being in the office does not mean that you are ‘on’ – actually working.

The converse applies. If you take a day off, it should be just that – ‘off’. You should rest and enjoy yourself. Taking phone calls and calling into the office means that you are neither ‘on’ nor ‘off’ – you’re doing neither properly. You are not really at work, nor are you resting.

If you’re ‘off’, stay off! Relax, recharge your batteries. Do ‘off’ well.

But if you’re ‘on’, GET TO WORK!

It surprises me how regularly salespeople return to the office after a day off and have no appointments set for the day. The time to set appointments for your first day back at work after time off are the days leading up to your time off. Waiting until you return is too late – you’ve just wasted the day.

Have two days off and return to the office without set appointments on your first day back and you have had THREE DAYS OFF. The only difference is that you are better dressed on the third day because you think you are working.

This is a rookie blunder that people who should know better fall for time and again.

I’m all for time off, but when at work, I believe that the bulk of the day should be spent working.

Salespeople are only working when they are face-to-face with clients or potential clients:  speaking to people.

The rest of the time you are getting ready for work.

Decide: are you ‘on’ or off?

If you are off, be off. But if you are ‘on’, be on. Speak to people for as much of your day as you can. This is where your results will come from.

This is my last bulletin for 2015. Thank you for being a regular reader of my blog. I hope that 2015 was the year you had hoped it would be when you began it. If not, please set goals for 2016 and formulate plans to achieve those goals.

Consistency comes from deciding what you want, planning its achievement, and then working that plan.

Enjoy your time off over Christmas and New Year. And remember, if you’re ‘off’ be ‘off’!