6 Non-Selling Tasks That Steal Your Time and How to Take It Back

As a sales representative, you want to spend your hours engaging with prospects, closing deals, and building relationships. However, many sales professionals find themselves bogged down by non-selling tasks that drain their energy and productivity.

According to recent studies, sales reps spend nearly 70% of their time on non-selling activities. This statistic is alarming, especially when you consider that every minute spent on low-value tasks is a minute taken away from selling.

In this blog post, we will explore six common non-selling tasks that steal your time and provide actionable strategies to reclaim those precious hours. By identifying these time thieves and implementing effective solutions, you can focus more on what truly matters: driving sales and achieving your targets.

1. Administrative Tasks

The Challenge: Administrative tasks are often the bane of a salesperson's existence. These tasks can include data entry, updating customer relationship management (CRM) systems, scheduling meetings, and managing emails. While necessary for maintaining organization, they can consume significant time that could be better spent selling.

How to Take It Back:

• Automate Where Possible: Leverage technology to automate repetitive tasks. For instance, many CRM systems offer automation features that can handle data entry and follow-up reminders for you.
• Use Templates: Create email templates for common communications. This not only saves time but also ensures consistency in your messaging.
• Schedule Admin Time: Block out specific times in your calendar dedicated solely to administrative tasks. This helps you manage these duties without letting them encroach on your selling time.

By streamlining administrative tasks through automation and planning, you can reclaim valuable hours for selling activities.

2. Excessive Meetings

The Challenge: Meetings can be a double-edged sword. While they are essential for collaboration and communication, excessive or poorly structured meetings can waste significant amounts of time. Sales reps often find themselves sitting in meetings that do not directly contribute to their goals.

How to Take It Back:

• Evaluate Meeting Necessity: Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself if it is truly necessary. Could the information be shared via email or a quick chat instead?
• Set Clear Agendas: If a meeting is required, ensure there is a clear agenda shared in advance. This keeps discussions focused and productive.
• Limit Attendance: Only invite those who are essential to the discussion. This reduces the number of participants and allows for more efficient decision-making.

By being intentional about meetings, you can minimize disruptions to your selling schedule.

3. Poor Lead Qualification

The Challenge: Spending time on leads that are unlikely to convert is a frustrating experience for any sales rep. Poor lead qualification processes can lead to wasted efforts on prospects who do not fit your ideal customer profile.

How to Take It Back:

• Implement Lead Scoring: Use lead scoring methods to prioritize prospects based on their likelihood to convert. Factors such as engagement level, company size, and industry can help you identify high-potential leads.
• Collaborate with Marketing: Work closely with your marketing team to ensure that leads are properly qualified before they reach your desk. Establish criteria for what constitutes a qualified lead so that marketing can filter them effectively.
• Regularly Review Leads: Set aside time each week to review your leads and adjust your qualification criteria based on what is working or not working in the field.

By refining your lead qualification process, you can focus your efforts on prospects that are more likely to result in sales.

4. Data Entry and Management

The Challenge: Data entry is often seen as a necessary evil in sales. However, spending excessive time inputting data into CRM systems can detract from actual selling activities.

How to Take It Back:

• Utilize Voice Recognition Tools: Consider using voice recognition software or mobile apps that allow you to dictate notes or updates instead of typing them out manually.
• Integrate Systems: Ensure that your CRM integrates with other tools you use (like email or calendar applications) so that data flows seamlessly between platforms without requiring manual entry.
• Regularly Clean Your Data: Schedule periodic reviews of your CRM data to remove duplicates and outdated information. This keeps your database manageable and reduces the time spent searching for relevant information.

By optimizing data management practices, you can minimize the time spent on data entry while keeping important information organized.

5. Managing Customer Relationships

The Challenge: While nurturing customer relationships is crucial for long-term success, managing these relationships can become overwhelming without proper organization. Sales reps may find themselves juggling multiple communication channels with clients—emails, calls, messages—which can lead to confusion and lost opportunities.

How to Take It Back:

• Use a Unified Inbox: Implement tools like Distrobird that offer a unified inbox for managing all customer communications in one place. This simplifies tracking interactions across different channels.
• Schedule Regular Check-Ins: Set up regular check-ins with key clients in advance so that they become part of your routine rather than ad-hoc tasks.
• Document Interactions: Keep detailed notes about customer interactions within your CRM system so that you have easy access to past conversations when needed.

By streamlining customer relationship management processes, you enhance communication efficiency while maintaining strong connections with clients.

6. Lack of Focus on High-Value Activities

The Challenge: Many sales reps fall into the trap of prioritizing low-value activities over high-impact selling tasks simply because they feel more comfortable or familiar with them.

How to Take It Back:

• Identify High-Value Activities: Determine which activities directly contribute to closing deals—such as prospecting new leads or following up with qualified prospects—and prioritize them in your daily schedule.
• Set Daily Goals: Establish daily goals focused on high-value activities rather than just completing tasks. For example, aim for a specific number of calls or meetings each day rather than merely checking off items on a list.
• Reflect Regularly: At the end of each week or month, reflect on how much time was spent on high-value versus low-value activities. Adjust your approach accordingly based on what worked best.

By maintaining focus on high-value activities, you maximize productivity and drive better results in your sales efforts.

Conclusion

Time is an invaluable resource for sales representatives, and reclaiming it from non-selling tasks is essential for achieving success in today’s competitive environment.

To optimize your time and boost sales productivity, consider addressing these common time-stealers:

• Administrative tasks
• Excessive meetings
• Poor lead qualification processes
• Data entry burdens
• Customer relationship management challenges
• Lack of focus on high-value activities

As you work toward optimizing your workflow and enhancing productivity within your sales role, consider leveraging tools like Distrobird. With its inbuilt dialer, unified inbox management for organized interactions across channels. And also automated sales sequences for nurturing leads effectively. Distrobird empowers you with the tools necessary for reclaiming valuable selling time.