How to Improve Time Management for Sales Teams

I asked 10 sales leaders last week to tell me where their reps spend most of their time. 9 out of 10 couldn't answer with data. If you don't know where time is going, you can't improve productivity. Most sales teams are running on gut feeling instead of insight. They're busy, but not productive. Here's the 3-step framework I've used to help teams instantly reclaim 10+ hours per week: 1. ASSESS Have every rep track one full day of activities in 30-minute blocks: ✔️ Prospecting ✔️ Internal meetings ✔️ Deal prep ✔️ Admin work ✔️ Actual selling time Most teams are shocked to find actual selling time is under 25%. 2. SCORE Once you have the data, score each activity on a scale of 1-10: ➡️ Revenue impact (Does this directly drive deals?) ➡️ Necessity (Can it be eliminated?) ➡️ Automation potential (Can tech handle this?) ➡️ Delegation option (Can someone else do this?) This creates your productivity heat map. 3. EXECUTE Now implement the clear winners: 👉 Automate follow-up sequences 👉 Create templates for repetitive communication 👉 Delegate admin work to support staff 👉 Eliminate low-value internal meetings 👉 Block calendar for high-impact activities The best teams are relentless about protecting selling time. I've seen teams implement this framework in a single afternoon and immediately reclaim 25% of their week. Your reps don't need more hours. They need better hours. Stop adding more to their plates. Start removing what doesn't drive revenue.

You're staring at your calendar filled with back to back meetings. Slack notifications blowing up your phone. 57 unread emails. And your manager just asked why you haven't hit your outbound quota this week. Is this you? Here's the harsh truth most sales leaders won't tell you: Your productivity "system" is actually DESTROYING your performance. I see it every day. Reps working 12-hour days but barely hitting quota. Constantly reactive instead of proactive. Feeling overwhelmed while watching top performers somehow find time for family, fitness, AND crushing targets. What's the difference? Top performers don't have more time. They have INTENTIONAL SYSTEMS. After coaching thousands of reps from struggling to President's Club, I've developed the PACER Method that's transforming how enterprise sales teams operate: P - PERSONAL: Block purple time for family events, quality connections, and being present. A - ADMIN + ACTION: Color code red for meetings, operations, and sales calls. Batch these together to avoid constant context switching. C - CREATION: Schedule blue blocks for deep work like building strategic account plans and crafting executive level messaging. E - ENRICHMENT: Mark green time for growth activities. Reading, learning, and developing skills that fuel your performance. R - RECOVERY: Protect yellow blocks for mental, physical and emotional renewal. Elite athletes need recovery periods…so do elite sellers. The key? Design your "perfect week" template with all 5 components color coded, then track your core metrics (discovery calls, win rate, ACV) to measure what's actually working. Even hitting 50% of your perfect week beats showing up reactive to whatever's in your inbox. The hardest territory to manage is the one between your ears. Your ability to master your calendar directly impacts your ability to master your income. — Want even more details about PACER? Go here: https://lnkd.in/gbpFye_t

Time Management Insights for Improving Productivity ⏰💡 I have been mentoring several people around the topic of time management. These are some pointers to help you master your time, boost productivity, and achieve more with less stress. 📈 1. Self-Assessment: Track and Analyze Your Time 📊 Track Your Time: For the next two weeks , keep a detailed log of how you spend each hour. There are tools like Toggl or RescueTime to help simplify this process.  I will put link to their sites in the comments. John Jensen also has a spreadsheet he utilizes that is a great framework for sales people. Categorize Activities: Once your log is complete, sort activities into categories such as planning, deal management, prospecting, admin tasks, internal and external meetings, and personal time.  Do you also understand what your high-impact activities are? Evaluate: Reflect on your log. Are you dedicating enough time to high-impact activities? Are personal activities getting the time they deserve? 2. Identify Areas for Improvement 🔍 High-Value vs. Low-Value Tasks: Pinpoint tasks that drive your goals forward. Delegate or eliminate low-value tasks. High-value tasks are often those that only you can do. Time Wasters: Identify activities that consume time without adding value, such as redundant meetings or excessive email checks. 3. Set Clear Priorities 🎯 Define Your Key Responsibilities: Clarify your role and responsibilities. Focus on activities that align with these and have the most significant impact. Goal Setting: Set clear, measurable goals. This will sharpen your focus and help you prioritize and delegate tasks effectively. 4. Improve Delegation 🤝 Identify Delegation Opportunities: Based on your time log and priorities, find tasks that can be handed off, freeing you to focus on high-level strategy. 5. Continuous Improvement 📈 Regular Check-Ins: Schedule regular check-ins to review your progress, discuss challenges, and adjust strategies as needed. This keeps you accountable and allows for timely adjustments. Personal Insights from My Experience 🌟 When I first started tracking my time, I was amazed at how much of it was spent on low-value tasks. By categorizing and analyzing my activities, I identified key areas for improvement and began delegating tasks that were consuming my time without significant returns. Setting clear priorities and goals was a game-changer, allowing me to focus on high-impact activities and achieve better results. Implementing these steps transformed my productivity, and I'm confident it can do the same for you! 🚀 #TimeManagement #Productivity

Hot take: most weekly AE forecast calls are a waste of time 🙄 While i see the value around deal reviews in general, doing it in a team setting makes no sense. 🛑 Ask any AE how much value they get from these meetings… 😢 A team of 8 AEs spend 50 mins listening to their teammates rush through their late stage deals with superficial updates coupled with a few basic questions from the manager. 🤷🏽♀️ If the goal is to drive accountability of your sales process and help the rep with blindspots, do it in a 1:1 setting with proper preparation before the meeting. 🔑 If the goal is to share best practices across the group of AEs — pick 2-3 deals, standardize the discussion and go deep on specific stages, whats worked, what didn’t and what we should try next (brainstorm) 🔑 Some ideas: 1️⃣ use technology to help you set up a scalable deal machine that highlights gaps and allows you to easily spot opps for acceleration before it’s too late (identify hot deals in early stages, have key activity inputs for late stages) 2️⃣ as a manager, use equal amount of time to prep vs host a meeting. 30 mins prep time for a 30 mins 1:1. Listen to call recordings, check activity, identify gaps to discuss on specific opps across the funnel (not only late stage) 3️⃣ create a pipeline format that works for your business today. Don’t blindly follow what you have done in the past. Things like ACV, competitors, sales cycle length, AE experience levels etc. are all part of this decision. Ideally every meeting is insightful, engaging and fun. ✅ If it’s a bunch of repetitive updates on opps across a large group that could have been shared on an email, you are doing it wrong. 😑 Happy leading friends! #salesops #pipeline #forecasting #dealreviews

I coach 100s of sellers, and one of the most common things they say to me is, “I’m working long hours, but still not getting the results I want.” I recently spoke with a seller working +50hr/week. Here's how we optimized his calendar: Old Schedule (Mon-Friday + 2 hours working on weekends) 6:30: wake up 6:30-7 - coffee, walk dogs, energy shake get dressed 7-8 work power hour 8-8:15 - take kids to school 8:15-8:30 - get ready for work 8:30-12 work 12-1 go on run 1-1:30 eat/take a break 1:30-5:30 work 5:30-9:30 take kids to sports, eat dinner, family time, etc. 10-11:30: work Work = 47-50 hours/week Sleep = 7 hours New Schedule: 6:30am - wake up 6:30-7 - coffee, walk dogs, energy shake, get dressed 7-8 - run (with audio book) 8-8:15 - take kids to school 8:15-8:30 - shower, get dressed, and spiritual practice (visualization, gratitude, or affirmations) 8:30-12 - work on Revenue Generating Activities 12-1 - lunch with wife 1-5:30 - work on Revenue Generating Activities 5:30-9:30 - family, sports, evening routine 9:30-10:30 - chill, watch a show, read, hang with wife 10:30-11 go to bed Work = 40 hours/week Sleep = 8 hours The result was he could work less hours, sleep more, and spend quality time with his family. Key changes included replacing the morning work sprint with a morning run, replacing the evening work sprint with time relaxing with his wife, and spending his workday on RGA’s. Every seller who feels overworked should go through this exercise. If you want to work less and sell more, I made a video outlining the key areas to spend your time on, and how to do your own calendar audit to maximize your work performance, health, and relationships.

A few productivity tips for my neuro-sparkly reps out there to help you 5x productivity. While some people view ADHD as a roadblock, I like to think of it as my superpower! As a sales rep, and then manager, I found these 3 tips had outsized results when it came to driving activity, pipeline, and revenue. Feel free to steal them! 1 - Automate all that you can. Busy work sucks, and I have found I put it off if I don’t have systems in place to drive them forward. Whether you use tools, or a VA - find a way to cut down or batch administrative tasks so you can focus on those revenue generating activities. 2 - Templates for everything. One of my favorite things to do is recognize patterns in my workflow, email replies to prospects or customers, or find FAQs and create snippets or templates so I don’t repeat work.   Example: A prospect reaches out and wants a pricing breakdown. I save a snippet in my sales engagement tool (I use Apollo.io) with a summary, attach pricing, and always offer to hop on a call if they want to walk through it live. After writing the same variation of this email a dozen times I realized it should be a snippet. Do this with any recurring messages or replies to FAQs and you can save yourself a ton of time throughout the sales process. 3 - Time block. Warning, you then have to defend those blocks in a big way.  Block… then live by your calendar. Like Ron Burgundy and the teleprompter. Do not go off script! I find batching similar tasks makes work more streamlined. I also try to balance my day by how interesting I find that task and my typical energy levels.  I match not as fun things to my high points, and the more interesting tasks (OR non client-facing low lift tasks) to my lower points so I don't have a low interest and low energy battle go down! #DopamineProblem Any other neuro-sparkly friends have some productivity hacks they want to share? #apollopartner

I hear this all the time from salespeople. The stress and struggle with meeting customer deadlines. During a session I delivered last week on forecasting and pipeline accuracy, I asked this sales team if this is an issue for them. Every hand went up.   When I asked why, the floodgates of assumptions opened.   🌟 Clients are demanding. They want everything yesterday. 🌟 The first responder wins. 🌟 I need to get this to them ASAP or I'll lose their business. 🌟 I have to drop everything just to hit a deadline, sacrificing my other responsibilities and my personal life.   👉Consider this: What if most of the stress you experience is self-imposed? 🤯   For example, you have a customer who needs a proposal. "The customer is expecting it yesterday!" you assume. You panic, as you look at your calendar for the week.   "When am I going to get this done?" The overwhelm takes over.    Here's the irony about managing and meeting customer expectations.   The customer didn’t set the deadline. The salesperson did! And all of this is based in the FEAR of loss and the ASSUMPTIONS they think the customer wants.   Rather than assume what they want, have them create the deadline! Here's the talk track to get your time back, eliminate the problem of overcommitting and meet expectations every time.   You: "Dear customer, when is the latest you need this proposal by?"   Customer: "Next Thursday should be fine, no rush, as I’m traveling."   You: "Okay, so if I get this proposal to you by next Thursday, when would you have a chance to review this?"   Customer: "I'll need to meet with the two other stakeholders to review this. And that won't happen until the following Tuesday."   You: "Great, let’s go ahead and schedule our next conversation after your meeting, so I'm being responsive for you and we keep the momentum going. What works for you?"   #sales #quota #proposals

"Sorry, Daddy's too tired" (If you find yourself saying this too often - read this): As an RVP of sales, most of my days were b2b. On average my calendar had 47+ meetings per week. I left work feeling completely drained. My boys were excited when I came up after work. "Dad, want to play soccer in the garage?" "Sorry, guys, Daddy's too tired." My wife wanted to talk and tell me about her day. "Sorry, hun - I've been talking to people for 9+ hours straight, I just don’t want to talk for a bit" I knew something had to change. So here's what I did for the next 4 weeks: • Color-coded every meeting (internal, ext, team, etc.) • Rated each from 1-5 (1 = draining 5= energizing) • Asked myself "do I really need to be here?" • Shortened meetings where I was owner • Learned to say "no" to meetings • Added 3 daily focus blocks M-F • Sunday review to optimize The results after 30 days: • 8 fewer meetings (eliminated/delegated) • 3+ hours on average back per week • 2x more async communications And most importantly... More time in the garage playing soccer & hearing about my wife's day. Your calendar isn't just a schedule It's a reflection of your priorities. Choose wisely. If you’re a systems nerd like me — here’s the 4-step process in detail: https://lnkd.in/eFT3CCaP

I usually run 1,200-1,500 demos a year now. When I was full time AE originally? Upwards of 2k a year. After 5 years of AE work, I'm close to 10,000 demos. 4 of those years, I was a full time player coach. Transactional sales is just different.. You see a LOT of AE's used to running 1-2 a day, struggle. A lot. If you STRUGGLE with balancing day to day in a fast paced, transactional sale environment (or maybe in general) this post is for you... Here's a couple points we pushed in training that always translated to more efficiently keeping up in the day to day 1. On any given day that you have WAY to much going on. It's cliche, but truly.. Do one thing at a time, put all the effort there at that moment. Nothing else happens, until the first priority is finished. You have 25 follow up calls to make at 1pm and 5 demos after 2pm? None of that matters until 1pm. You have a demo in 7 minutes. That's your focus. 2. Be ruthlessly intentional with your calendar. Meetings, blocks for pipeline, lunch, etc. I never take demos at lunch or pipeline time. That's 12-2 daily. Sportscenter, food, and a walk, pipeline after. It's the most imp 2 hours of my day. All other demos, tasks, meetings, are scheduled. Meticulously. 3. When you're sourcing pipeline, or holding meetings, be diligent with listening, understanding, and naturally curious. This ALWAYS helps save time on the demo, setting next steps, closing, pipeline. 4. Be naturally curious. Better questions, better conversation, easier to remember meetings, easier to take notes, easier to follow up --> less time trying to figure it out in follow up ---> more direct calls to action --> faster cycles :) Oh... and a better experience for your prospects... 5. NEVER push updating notes and sending follow up call notes to EOD. Develop a concrete process post demo to do everything. Update salesforce, send a follow up, clean up notes. All that takes 2-5 minutes right after a call, vs 10-15 minutes trying to catch up at EOD. 6. Build a concrete process. Stick to it. If you're selling transactionally, find your path. Find a process that oooooooozes efficiency to the best of your ability. Don't cut corners. Simply build your concrete foundational process. Lean on it when things get tough or overwhelming. 7. Give yourself some grace. Life happens. The schedule falls apart. Things drop. It's ok. That's why point 6 is so important. These are my top 7 for a fast paced work life. What would you add?

Stop multitasking. Start using this strategy instead. I used to drown in meetings, follow-ups, and a to-do list that never quit. Sound familiar? I’ve been there. Overwhelmed, always playing catch-up, and not able to ever switch off. Not to mention anxiety through the roof. Something had to change. I know how it feels. You wake up every day with a mission: → grow that pipeline → book those meetings → close the deals And every single day, it feels like you’re starting from zero. The grind is real. I knew I needed a new game plan.  So I found it: Structured Day Segmentation. Here’s how it works: 1. Assess your day → Track your time for a week. → Get real about where your time goes and what drains your energy. 2. Break it down: → Organize your day into power blocks: - 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Attack high-priority tasks -11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Handle meetings and calls -1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Crush admin and routine work -3:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Wrap- with follow-ups and prep for tomorrow → Take a 10-minute break every 90 minutes to recharge. 3. Make it happen: → Block out these periods in your calendar. → Let your team know your new game plan so they don’t interrupt your focus. 4. Fine-tune: → After 2 weeks, see what’s working and adjust. → Keep evolving. 5. Reflect: → Weekly, assess your productivity and energy. → Make changes as needed. Here’s the truth: You don’t need to be overwhelmed and stressed. You need to take control, prioritize what matters, and delegate what doesn’t. Structured Day Segmentation allows you to be more productive, doing less, and feeling great about it. Structuring my day this way has transformed my productivity and performance more than any other method or guru advice. I have a full pipeline, while still supporting clients and opening doors to new opportunities in a simple way. Ready to take control of your day? Give this a shot. It’s the key to becoming more efficient and less stressed. ➜ What’s the time of day you’re at your best? ___ → I’m Melina, Executive Coach and Business Strategist. → My first cohort for Sales Execs kicks off in September. → Interested? DM me "I'm In" for details.