Every couple of years or so HubSpot updates its list of time management hacks for sales reps. Some of this advice is so time-tested, it could have worked back in the days of tickler files and Filofaxes, especially #4 on the list, Swallow the frog.
The first thing a rep does should be the one thing they hate to do.
Swallow the frog simply means you find that one task that you always put off and do it first. Otherwise, you’ll find something else to do, and avoiding this task will come back to bite you in the end.
That’s good advice when the frog is a follow-up email. But if the frog is logging activities in the CRM, you could be asking your reps to swallow it 5 – 10 times a day. Up to 75 if they’re inside reps making calls You’re just about begging your sales teams to procrastinate.
The real frog in your CRM and the benefits of killing it.
For most good reps, CRM isn’t the frog. They hate the time-consuming navigations, menus, radio buttons, drop downs, editable fields, dialog boxes… Reps spend up to 9 hours a week and more logging activities in the CRM.
Kill that frog and you can also check off a couple of other time management hacks from the HubSpot list.
You help Eliminate administrative tasks (#1) and Streamline repeatable tasks (#7).
You also help with hack #5, Keep Going. Momentum is a powerful thing. Yet we expect reps to break it every time they close a deal or schedule a demo, just to update the CRM.
And that takes us to #3 on the list, Stick with the task you’re on. Prospecting, following up, meeting, closing a deal… these all use different parts of the brain than data entry.
Organizations that deploy Rollio report that it gives reps 100 extra hours a year to sell.
Rollio replaces manual CRM updates with vocal or texted instructions. The rep simply “tells” Rollio what happened and the artificial intelligence in Rollio updates the CRM.
In fact, Rollio’s tight integration with salesforce.com can help with many of HubSpot’s 10 Time Management Hacks for Sales Reps. Here are those we haven’t covered yet:
Be prepared to pivot (#2): If a hole opens up in a rep’s schedule, they should use that time productively. Rollio can remind reps of upcoming activities they to prepare for.
Structure your day around the buyer (#6): Your reps know not to call on a diner during lunch hour. But some less-than-ideal times to call are less obvious. You need data and Rollio will get you that data faster.
Have a concise value proposition (#8): Different customers have different needs. If you have your value prop in salesforce.com, Rollio can feed value props to your reps before each call.
Create email templates (#9): No sense reinventing the wheel every time you have to send a routine communication. Rollio can tell reps which template to use when.
Reduce distractions (#10): Sorry, Rollio can’t get rid of Facebook, LinkedIn or World of Warcraft, but Rollio’s task reminders may help.
For a free Rollio demo, click here.
COMMENTS