The 4:00 Hour

The issue of time management is a big one for salespeople. No other occupation is as scrutinized when it comes to how employees use their time, and that includes those who bill by the hour.

Here’s my one piece of advice on the subject, today: mind the 4:00 hour. You have approximately 252 hours’ worth of 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm selling time during a year. Imagine that. How often does it go down the drain without a client callback or prospecting phone call.

You can wake up earlier and get administrivia completed. You can work late in the evenings on proposals. But other people, people you could be connecting with, are still at work, going strong, at 4:00 pm. Are you?

Other resources: I’ve added posts in the past on the subject; Dave Kahle is the subject matter expert, and here are a few more articles on the subject.