Inside Sales by Design

time

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The 4 D’s and a 5th for Good Measure

Heard about this a couple of weeks ago and it’s too good to not share. Here we go!

Do

Delegate

Delay

Delete

Some very simple time management techniques in those words and ties to so much of what we’ve talked about already. Time blocking, picking and choosing what gets our attention verses reacting to everything around us.

The 5th “D” is Determination. It’s easy to rattle off the 4 “D” words; quite another to walk it out and execute.

Determine – is a verb, implying action, to decide

Determined – also a verb implying action, to move forward resolutely

Determination – is a noun implying discernment, knowledge, and wisdom

The question is, what on your calendar and part of your life right now get which “D” and how determined are you to take the ownership?

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Knowledge Worker v. Line Worker

There is a distinct difference between the two. There’s also a distinct difference between knowledge work and line work.

I think this was called out very well and articulated nicely in the Masters of Scale Rapid Response podcast with Diane Hoskins, Co-CEO of Gensler. The podcast is titled: Healthy Offices and the Myth of Remote-Work Productivity. http://listen.meditativestory.com/HoskinsRREp?c=oO3LDVPmiANz-gofX29NrQ&h=39b2eda9f2ebf6334

As we move through our day, I think it’s imperative we know what is “line work” activity and what is “knowledge work” activity.

Line work: (i.e. create a plan)

  1. Cleaning up CRM
  2. Writing a cadence
  3. Changing our LI profile picture
  4. Creating a schedule template or any template at all to fill in
  5. Creating a “route schedule” to visit our customers

Knowledge work: (i.e. execute against the plan)

  1. Executing an effective outbound communication effort (email, LinkedIn, video call, etc.) against a clean list in CRM
  2. Filling in the cadence with meaningful dialogue/verbiage
  3. Updating our LI profile so it resonates with others
  4. Filling in the template we created with information that matters and that we can control
  5. Making the visits with our customers meaningful and impactful

What do you think? What about your day is “line work” and what is “knowledge work”? And how much of it? Creating a clear path for the two is crucial. Why? Because we get out of flow if we try to fill in the QBR template while we’re creating it. Or our reps get frustrated when they’re in the flow of calls, but have to stop and do the line work of finding the right contact info. We’re leveraging two different parts of the brain when it comes to line v. knowledge work. It’s imperative to work on one at a time.

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The Time in Between

In addition to being a great song, serves as a great reminder. There’s a start time and an end time. What are you doing in the time in between? From the Go to the Stop.

There’s so much opportunity there to connect, serve, persuade.

And it doesn’t have to be Big Time in Between. It can be minutes. A smile. Connecting eye to eye with someone.

It can be a Big Time in Between. A sales meeting. A demo. An SKO. (virtual or in person, these are all BIG.)

 

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Get Stuff Done

If you live by the words “this is how we’ve always done it” and really, really like a well defined rut, this is probably not what you’re looking for. If however, you are interested in making changes within yourself and your team, you’ve come to the right place.

If you’re someone who likes to get up and get stuff done, then you’re in the right place. If dangling items on your to-do list make you nauseous and procrastination make you cranky, you’re in good company.

As a leader, we are on the hook for numbers, relationships, process, initial onboarding, ongoing training, the list goes on and on. Can I get an Amen? Sometimes, tackling these big initiatives is so overwhelming, we don’t know where to start.

And even worse, we do nothing.

Well, let’s talk about eating the elephant one bit at a time, just like in the video. At the AA-ISP Leadership Summit in 2017, I was fortunate enough to lead a pre-event workshop titled Transforming your Inside Sales Team. During this workshop, we walked through an Inside Sales Infrastructure scorecard and everybody rated themselves.

The purpose of this exercise was (and is) to stop, think, and do.

The leaders in this workshop scored themselves and then rated what particular area of focus would give their team the most lift. Based upon those scores, they were then able to plot actions on an annual calendar for tackling.

Again, keeping in mind that things happen – both good and bad – and we should allow enough time so we’re not short-circuiting our efforts before they begin.

ISbD Annual Plan
ISbD Annual Plan to get stuff done

 

Resources for you:

  1. AA-ISP
  2. Transforming your Inside Sales Team worksheets (this is where you’ll find the scorecard)

Action tip of the day: (1) complete your scorecard, (2) figure out which area of your Inside Sales Infrastructure you could improve that would matter most to your team and deliver the biggest impact, (3) determine next steps and right them down, and (4) compartmentalize what you need, next best steps, and execute!

 

 

 

Dionne is a 20 year sales veteran having built and scaled Inside Sales team from the ground up. She started her own firm, Inside Sales by Design, to work with companies wanting to build their Inside Sales Teams right the first time and transform their current Inside Sales Team into something greater. Dionne believes in and uses common sense, practical approaches to inspire leaders and teams to greatness.