Time Is Money

SalesManUp


Time Is Money


Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.
- Jim Rohn


Bryant McGill wrote, “ Within the hearts of men, loyalty and consideration are esteemed greater than success. “  Time is money. Especially in the world of commerce where everyone is racing at breakneck speed to accomplish our tasks. How vital it is for sales professionals to be sensitive to the pace of our clients, without adopting it ourselves. I used to work with a contractor who, when on the phone, spoke in a rushed flurry of short sentences culminating in conclusive action points. When talking with this gentleman, I found myself talking faster, and getting right to the point. In order to respect him, as a client, I needed to mirror his pace,or I would lose him. That did not mean that I had to adopt his pace for my life.


Regardless of what our pace or disposition is, whether we are “ damn the torpedos, full steam ahead “ people, or just chilled out, easy going, I -just-ate -a - country-meal-at - Cracker - Barrel individual; we have to always respect the time of our clients. Mean what we say, say what we mean. Yes, we need to emote all of this with kindness and professionalism ; but it is vital that we get to the point. I find that if I give people a time frame of how long my presentation or update will take, then they cooperate, as long as I hold to my original boundary. Yes, we believe what we have to say to the client is important. For us , it might mean the difference between beans and rice , or steak and salmon on the dinner table ; but that’s not our prospect’s focus. We can never lose site that they are doing US a favor by yielding and investing some of their precious time to hear us out. So we always have to value these moments like someone just handed us stock options to a company on the verge of exploding.


Most recently, I have found better success in requesting 15 minute product updates with my clients, as it secures my objective and theirs as well. Our time spent with the client or prospect does not always equate to the outcome, but our timing can ! Last year, one short meeting and a sample of a new product, procured my largest sale of the year ! I’d love to tell you that I razzled and dazzled the client with my extemporaneous speaking and cognitive display of our product’s award-winning bells and whistles. Nope. I simply got a product binder into the hands of the right designer at the right time, and good things happened.


While wrapping up a luncheon presentation recently with a large University, my Regional Manager and I asked the participants for five more minutes to clarify and expound on some specific services that we offer. They agreed. We spoke. Then we made sure to hold up to our end of the promise. We closed the luncheon in five minutes. We conveyed to our prospects that we wanted to make sure to respect their time, and you could see their smiles and expressions of affirmation. How would you like to be known - as the sales rep who honors their client’s time, or one whose clients are hesitant to give them a meeting because they don't know when to shut up ?  If we respect their time, they will eventually trust us with their business. A long journey begins with one simple step. Respecting time is that step.


Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. - Jim Rohn