The Importance of being Organized in SaaS Sales

When I started in sales I thought the best performers in the office would be the extroverted ones, the stereotypes of the talker who can sell ice to an eskimo. This notion was quickly dismantled after a few weeks of seeing how the actual top-performers worked. They weren’t the loudest, most extroverted people. The top-performers had a few things in common: they were intentional with how they used their time and they were extremely well-organized. Naturally, seeing how they operated, I began to imitate them, even though organization is not my biggest strength in my personal life.

Over the months, working as a BDR, I began to understand why being a well-organized person helps you succeed in this role. For one, having a clear structured approach to your day gives you confidence when things don’t go your way that you will get back on track if you follow your action plan. Here are three ways I make sure that my days have structure and that I don’t miss any important meetings/follow-ups with prospects:

Start your day with the Eisenhower Matrix

I start my day off by getting out my notebook and creating a To-Do List which is modelled after the Eisenhower Matrix. It’s a popular productivity tool that helps people organize and prioritize their tasks based on urgency and importance. This matrix consists of four quadrants that classify tasks as urgent and important (Do), important but not urgent (Decide), urgent but not important (Delegate), and neither urgent nor important. By categorizing tasks into these quadrants, I’m able to internaly prioritize what absolutely needs to be done today (such as the amount of calls I need to make) and what can wait (meetings, email follow-ups etc.). Doing this every day will add just a bit more clarity that can allow you the freedom to focus more.

2. Record Tasks and Recontacts

When calling prospects I make sure to create tasks for each lead. This allows me to not miss any follow-ups or important calls and it also builds my credibility as a reliable professional. When I tell a prospect I will send an e-mail, I will make sure the prospect gets it so I can stick to my word. A great software that allows you to manage your pipeline with a task list, is salesloft. SalesLoft is a cloud-based sales engagement platform that provides a comprehensive set of tools for sales teams to optimize their workflow and improve their performance. The platform offers features like email and call automation, task management, and analytics, allowing users to streamline their sales processes and track their own statistics, such as open and response rates. It’s a pretty powerful tool, if you learn how to leverage it the right way.

3. Create a checklist

At the end of the day, I will go through a checklist to keep myself accountable to the amount of required calls I need to reach my target. When creating this checklist, I looked at my goal and reverse-engineered–what do I need to do on a weekly/daily basis to reach my goal. Now, I have a clear manual that instructs me what I need to do, when to do it, and where. When you create a checklist, make sure it’s specific. Not something like “make a lot of calls today,” or “improve your sales skills.” Your brain does not know how to use ambiguous statements like this in a productive way. Include bullet points including the amount of calls, when you will make them (two 90 minute slots before and after lunch) and where (office or home office). Using action triggers is crucial to help you stay on track. What is an action trigger? Action triggers are important when setting habits because they serve as reminders that prompt individuals to take action towards their desired habit. An action trigger can be any external cue that triggers a specific behavior, such as setting an alarm to remind oneself to exercise at a specific time, or leaving running shoes by the front door to serve as a visual reminder to go for a run. On my checklist, I will make sure to do 25 minutes of reading sales literature after I return for lunch. No room for ambiguity! I know what to do, for how long and when to do it. And I keep myself accountable at the end of the day, when reviewing the checklist.