Funding Fundamentals

Selling Time is Referral Time

There are times during every day that are Prime Sales Call Time.

• By Ty Bello
• Sep 01, 2010

Are you using your selling time properly? Let's be realistic: The referral sources that we call on are all busy working and it is our job to fit into the times when they will hear our message and also when we will not interfere with their day. Respecting their time will prove to be a positive experience for all.

We must also be realistic and know that we need time to interact with others on our team, whether that is customer service, billing team, leadership and even delivery. We also need time to prepare for our weeks. Sales don't just happen because we show up, we need to prepare and be ready for each call. Let's not forget those Weekly Motivational Sales meetings that we attend also and the time that they require.

But let's start with the basic day and the Prime Times for Sales Calls every day.

When is Prime Sales Time?

Monday	9:30 AM to 11:15 AM 1:30 PM to 4:15 PM
Tues. - Thurs.	8:30 AM to 11:15 AM 1:30 PM to 4:15 PM
Friday	8:30 AM to 11:15 AM 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM

These time can and should be adjusted according to your specific referral communities schedule. There are many parts of the country where referral offices are staying open later to accommodate the working patient. If you sell in a referral community like this it may best serve you to consider one or two late nights working in the referral community. Very few sales representatives will take the time to invest in this office after typical business hours and this may prove to be an uninterrupted time for you and the referral source.

Don't let office responsibilities and or meetings get in your way of having productive Prime Referral Time. Don't use the excuse that "I have to be in the office to run paperwork", or "meet with other staff members." These are situations that will take you away from Prime Selling Time. If you are away from that Prime Time of Selling, I can assure you that your competition is out there selling. Let's look at the Prime Time again but this time look at the time that is open for these other tasks:

Openings for Prime Sales Time

	Prime Sales Call	Preparation Time	Lunch
Monday	9:30 AM - 11:15 AM 1:30 PM - 4:15 PM	8:00 AM - 9:15 AM 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM	12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Tues. - Thurs.	8:30 AM - 11:15 AM 1:30 PM - 4:15 PM	8:00 AM - 8:15 AM 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM	12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Friday	8:30 AM - 11:15 AM 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM	8:00 AM - 8:15 AM 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM 3:15 PM - 5:00 PM	12:15 PM - 1:15 PM

Just as we need to prepare for every sales call, we also need to plan our day for that preparation and other duties we must do. With this breakdown, we have time every day for preparation. Again this will need to be adjusted for you and your referral communities needs.

Here is how it breaks down in number of hours per day:

Time Breakdown

	Prime Sales Call	Preparation Time	Lunch
Monday	4 Hours 30 Minutes	2 Hours	1 Hour
Tues. - Thurs.	5 Hours 30 Minutes	1 Hour 30 Minutes	1 Hour
Friday	4 Hours 15 Minutes	2 Hours 45 Minutes	1 Hour
TOTALS	25 Hours 15 Minutes	9 Hours 15 Minutes	5 Hours

Structure is a key element to great sales success. If we can commit to making productive sales calls every day then we need to use the time that we have in a structured way.

Remember I am a realist and know that this is the perfect scenario, you need to work out the details on how to get this to work for your business and territory.

This article originally appeared in the September 2010 issue of HME Business.