I just wasted a day

I just wasted a day. I have no other way to put it than that. How do I know I wasted a day?

1. Emotionally I feel that way, so it must be true

2. All day I’ve been working at what feels like ½ speed

3. Although I did use some of my own advice a few times (30 minutes of focused activity, setting little goals for myself, etc)… most of the time I ignored what I know works.

I think I WANTED to waste the day – perhaps because of ennui (can you tell I’ve been reading Sherlock Holmes?).

This got me thinking, would it have been any different if I were sitting in the gray cubes of love still?
Honestly I don’t think so. Perhaps the only difference is that I would have had to work harder at looking busy as people walked by, but let’s face it – that is a skill most salespeople have already developed.

Why am I sharing all of this?
Because there is a good chance that on any given day – at least one of the people on your sales team is in the midst of ennui of their own.

Which is a leading indicator that at half speed you are losing about 130 selling days each year on your team (where did I come up with 130 days? the math 52 weeks x 5 days = 260 days if one person each day is working at ½ speed that is 130 selling days).

So what is a sales leader to do?

1. Watch for it. This isn’t an opportunity for scolding, rather think of ways you can help them move it up another gear (from 2nd to 3rd would be better)

2. Track it. As long as it isn’t the same person every day or even the same person every Wednesday (perhaps after a Tuesday night golf league) – remember that salespeople are just that PEOPLE. Give them a break and take the time to help them set up a productive tomorrow.

3. Plan for it. I’d even suggest you look at what production on a solid 4th gear day looks like and consider shifting those into 5th gear – that will probably work better than trying to eliminate the ennui completely.

Oh look if nothing else I have Monday’s Inside Sales Leadership Corner blog post done. I guess that is an accomplishment (so ½ speed it was vs. a complete waste).