Sales Rep 101 – Chapter 11

Flexibility

One of the best things about Sales for me is the Flexibility. Most sales positions require you to be out and about either working with current customers or looking for new customers. You do spend time at the office but during the day you usually will have some free time during the day. However, here is a word of caution. In sales it is easy to take advantage of that freedom and that can hurt you in several ways. If you have a good manager they will find out if you are not doing your job. Trust me, I’m not sure how they do it but they will find out. And it also will affect your income. If you are not putting in the effort in sales you will not make money. And when your sales are hurting your boss will be letting you know. I have known many sales reps over the years that took advantage of the flexibility and ended up losing their job over it. It takes discipline to be in sales. Especially outside sales. The key is to find a balance. Make sure to make a plan for the day so you don’t get caught up in the what I call the dreaded down time spiral. Sometimes in sales your calendar is not as full as you would want and it is easy to just fall into the trap of not doing anything. But that will catch up with you. So if you have a few days that are slow make sure to fill up your calendar with things that you should be doing. I feel that if you fill in activities on your calendar it gives you a plan for the day. Even if you don’t get to everything on your calendar it will give you guidance. There is nothing worse than looking at your calendar in the morning and not seeing anything on it. So, what are the best ways to take advantage of the flexibility? Maybe you need to get your oil changed. I love to shop for Christmas and birthday presents during the day. You will have the stores to yourself which is awesome! I used to have lunch with my daughters when they were in grade school. And it was so cool when I would surprise them at lunch. The look on their faces was the best. Those are things that most people just can’t do because they are stuck in an office or working from home. But on the flip side it is easy to stop by a coffee shop and the next thing you know you have blown half of the day. And if you go home for lunch do NOT turn on the TV. That is a danger zone for many people. It is easy to watch TV all afternoon before you head back to the office. Eventually, that will catch up with you. I could always tell who spent all day at home. And eventually their sales become bad enough where you need to let them go. So don’t get caught in that trap. Take advantage of your flexibility but treat it like it could be taken away anytime. Because it can. Flexibility is my favorite thing about sales!