The Perfect Calendar + Eisenhower Matrix

The Ultimate Guide to Time Management for Sales Teams

I have managed dozens of sales teams in my career, both as a full-time employee and a fractional executive and they all have something in common.

They have little time.

Or better, they can improve their time and focus on sales rather than unnecessary activities.

Yes, because sales is a tough job and spending time on non-core sales activities is just a waste of time.

Productivity is as important as having negotiation skills or delivering great demos.

As a leader, you should help your team reclaim their time and support them in finding ways to be more productive.

Unfortunately, most leaders fail to help their teams effectively. They may believe they are assisting, but in reality, their team spends 60-70% of their time on non-sales activities.

Leaders provide direction by saying "Don't do that, do this instead," but they often neglect to offer the necessary systems, processes, and frameworks to support their teams.

As a result, the sales pipeline decreases, revenue drops and leaders feel frustrated and helpless. Eventually, the team asks for help, but by then it may be too late.

Unhappy and frustrated, they may leave, potentially derailing their entire careers.

It is your responsibility to help your team navigate this situation and ensure that their time is productive and resourceful.

Hey Matteo, I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t seem to get anything done these days.

I’ve heard this sentence too many times.

Salespeople face constant pressure, activities, internal meetings, and requests.

Being at the forefront of the organisation means juggling many responsibilities.

However, spending time on non-core tasks, while they may feel important, can lead you down the wrong path.

Salespeople should prioritise sales activities to make the most of their time.

I did an exercise the other day that you can do too.

I created a blank calendar on my Google page picturing in my mind what ‘The Perfect Calendar’ would look like.

The Perfect Calendar

Organise your day into blocks of time: dedicate mornings to prospects/customers, and afternoons to prospecting and follow-ups.

Use the time in between for administrative tasks, lunch, breaks, and internal meetings.

Create a calendar that reflects your ideal schedule, and periodically review it.

Another exercise that has always worked for my teams is the Eisenhower Matrix.

To begin, start by filling out a time log.

In each box, write down what you did during that specific time or day. Include everything, from browsing the internet to researching prospects.

Once you have filled out the time log, take an hour on Friday, before switching things off, to position all those tasks in the matrix.

Eisenhower Matrix 4 Quadrants

My preferred quadrant for tasks is always number 2, where I usually put all the high-impact tasks. I also like number 4.

However, I don't like number 1 because it forces me to prioritize urgency over importance. But sometimes we have to deal with urgent matters, don't we?

Download the Eisenhower Matrix’s template here.

The final step is accountability.

The risk with time management is inconsistency.

Use your 1:1 meetings to check in with your team and ensure they are sticking to the agreed-upon calendar setup.

Of course, things can change, and it's okay to deviate from the plan sometimes, but we should always aim to achieve the ideal calendar we worked upon.

In Summary

It’s very important to help your team get through this.

Time management is a very important skill and it is a teachable one.

There is an ideal calendar that more or less anyone working in sales should aim to achieve. Focused on the things that matter.

While the Eisenhower Matrix is a tactical way to let them understand where are they spending their time and then bucketing into the quadrants.

This Week’s Action Step

Talk to your team and ask if they are struggling with time.

Be proactive with them now that you have tools and frameworks to tackle the issue.

Giving back even just one hour of their day can be a massive achievement.

They can use that hour to focus on tasks that produce high impact and potentially increase their chances of success.

Thank you for reading this far. See you all next week.