Here's how you can optimize sales leaders' time and task prioritization for maximum productivity.

Delegation thrives when there's a transparent system that focuses on the profitability of each individual project and when there's an incentive for managers to delegate the work and coach less senior people

This should be everyone's #1 Step. Break down your big picture goals into the most minute things. If your goal is just to SELL MORE, you need to dial it back How can you sell more? Is it getting more people on the phone? How many calls do you make per great customer interaction? New goal: Make 50 calls by 1pm every day. Don't need to make a ton of calls, but don't want to give up on your prospecting? New goal: Prospect from 8-10am every day. Sales may feel like you're spinning plates at times. Try to keep your focus on the new, smaller tasks that help you achieve your immediate goals & will lead to long term success.

There are so many more options for tools and technology to use nowadays. I think you have to walk the fine line between utilizing too many tools that it’s actually time consuming to switch between them and choose the right ones and utilizing too little tools where employees are stuck doing manual labor that could be automated. I would regularly ask for honest feedback when it comes to tools and technology. The people using the technology every day are going to be able to accurately tell you what works and what doesn’t much better than the person who sold you the license will be able to.

There’s a common saying that those who are successful are not that way because they’re motivated they do so, but because they’re consistent and disciplined. Setting up a daily routine for how to handle your responsibilities is key. Knowing your strengths is also key. I am a morning person and therefore do all of my heads down work before noon. Any meetings I have or work that requires a little bit less focus, I save for the afternoon.

Time blocking always works for me. Coupling this with the Pomodoro technique (fully focusing on one task for 25 minutes and taking a 5-minute break) and sometimes the Eisenhower Matrix (which categorizes tasks into urgent/important, not urgent/ important, urgent/ not important, and not urgent/ not important) helps me to beat decision paralysis especially when faced with tight deadlines.

One major aspect to productivity is being efficient. This does not get talked about nearly enough. There are a million books, keynotes, podcasts, etc about how to be more productive. But efficiency is the real key. It will lead to productivity, but with less input and less waste. It's commonly thought of as getting things done fast, but that's not truly it. So while managing your time is important so that you can be more productive, you must first learn what efficiency is, and how to become more efficient. I'm currently writing a doctoral dissertation on this topic because it just doesn't get enough awareness. It's a game changer.

Consider Bill Gate's 'Think Week' where he dedicates this time for deep thinking, learning, and strategic planning. Here's how taking some time off to reflect can help us: 1. Deep focus and reflection - You are able to step away from daily operations and distractions, take a 360° view of your strategies, goals and challenges. 2. Strategic planning - You are able to evaluate current sales strategies, and brainstorm new approaches to improve performance and growth. 3. Creative problem solving - With uninterrupted time, you are able to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to complex problems that you may not have time to address during regular workdays.

It’s interesting to see the trend in a shifting work week from five days to four days and how productivity actually hasn’t gotten worse for those companies that do shift on average. From my own personal experience and the experience that I’ve talked about with many of my peers and friends, you were most productive when you return from vacation. You’re well rested and you’re ready to get back to work. I think that every couple weeks taking a Friday off to give yourself time to do things that are important to you or just rest will greatly improve your productivity. Leaders who are looking to motivate their team should utilize the reward of the occasional Friday or Monday off to A) revitalize their team and B) encourage high performers

It is equally important to encourage your team to prioritize health. You can introduce team health initiatives which are designed to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the team members. These may include: regular exercise programs, ergonomic workspaces, regular health screenings, access to counselling services, flexible working hours, recognition and rewards, open communication channels etc Let's not forget that as much as we are taking care of ourselves, if our teams are not operating at the best level, our output would be sub-par. Taking care of them would lead to a more engaged, productive, and motivated team. Now who wouldn't want that?

Prioritize tasks based on leverage/ impact. In this case, leverage means everything that multiplies your efforts by at least 2x