Thoughtful Thursdays - A process to consider when looking to avoid wasting time

In recent posts the subject of time has been discussed from the point of view of being in control of your time and potential cost implications to a prospect for a delaying decision.

Time is arguably one of your most valuable resources and today's thought focuses on how you might go about saving some.

When was the last time you took a good look at your sales process? Mapping it out is the first step to discovering how and where your time is spent. The goal is not to produce a detailed map as soon as possible, but to improve your understanding, identify opportunities for improvement and solve problems.

You have suppliers and inputs. Add work and you produce outputs that must meet customer requirements. The work is the process you want to map out. You may want to start keeping a log of your time and activities to be sure no steps are left out or taken for granted. Review of previous experiences is another source for this information.

Once you have a list of steps, add major decision points and any loops and support activities that may be part of the process. Take a look at the map as it is developed and walk through it to validate it and make any changes that are appropriate. At this point begin looking for things in your process that are done again.

HINT: LOOK FOR THE THE PREFIX "RE"

• Repeat
• Recheck
• Reenter
• Redesign
• Retest
• Rewrite
• Redo
• Return

These are the steps you want to examine in detail and potentially eliminate.

You can quantify your potential time savings by applying a timeline to the steps in your process. Some of the "re" steps e more worthwhile working on than others. When you do not have a definitive time for a particular step, take a best case and worse case approach. Use the best case as your target. The difference between the best and worst case is your opportunity for improvement.

Accurately mapping out your processes and follow up analysis can yield tremendous savings in time.

Good selling,
Richard