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pull in, to bring in, to rake in, to generate
to distinguish oneself from someone: to differentiate oneself from someone
survival: continuation, endurance
Diligence and consistency lead to success
    Successful time management demands two things: A clear, realistic strategy, and a consistent
implementation
.
    In practice, strategic time management is implemented only sporadically. But as long as salespeople aren’t clear about what their priorities are and as long as they don’t determine concretely what is really important and
takes precedence
, they will not even
attempt to tackle
certain projects.
    One typical example, noted by Dr. Ewald Lang, trainer and management consultant from Munich, is the acquisition of new customers. Prospecting demands a great deal of time and effort and takes a while till success
ensues
. Therefore, one
is greatly tempted
to return to short-term “success” by continuing to generate sales with the existing customers.
    However, to set clear priorities means making a decision, which is best done together with the sales manager within the
target agreement
. The closer the communication and the more regular feedback is given, the better the sales manager will be able to support the sales force in reaching their goals.
    For example, if there is an agreement that the sales representative wins over a certain number of new customers and if this goal has top priority, it clearly has to show up in the time management planning. After all the tasks have been planned and scheduled, the next step is the most important one: the implementation. In this case, success depends on
simple virtues
, such as diligence, consistency, and discipline.
    Conclusion: “
A diligent salesperson will always achieve better results – even if he may not be a ‘natural sales talent.’ The more consistent and disciplined he sticks to his set objectives
,
the more successful he will be,
” says Dr. Ewald Lang.
    Know what’s stopping you. The best time management is useless if “
something always keeps cropping up
.” Dr. Ewald Lang summarises the reasons why we often
procrastinate
:
    If the goal is still a long time away, actions are moved to the back burner. Solution: Move up the dates for action or
commit yourself
to partial steps and goals and control if the partial goals have been reached.
    The fear of tackling something new. Solution: Consider what would be the worst that could happen and then put the worst case in relation to the actual experience.
    The fear of failing
and
experiencing defeat
.
    Solution: Make it clear to yourself that it is much worse not to do anything. Only this is defeat.
    Clinging to
what you are familiar with because you know that you can do it well. If things have gone well so far, you
lack the motivation
to make changes. Solution: Make it clear to yourself that new goals open new perspectives.
    A lack in motivation – there are no (negative) consequences if you do not tackle the task. Therefore, one doesn’t do anything about it and everything goes on as it did before. Solution: Accept motivational incentives, e.g.
along the lines
of variable
remuneration
.

    Assigning
priorities
    Assign priorities to all upcoming activities, for example prospecting,
recapturing
lost customers and servicing current customers. Then,
allot
percentages to your priorities in accordance
with
how much time you want to spend on each task. It is important that your planning be realistic: Fixed appointments and time periods, for example
recurring
weekly meetings, consultations with the internal sales force, office work, etc. have to be determined as fixed time blocks. Then, determine the time you want to spend on the individual priorities. This may, for example, result in the following weekly schedule: 2 days for prospecting, 0,5 days for recapturing lost customers, 1,5 days for
attending to
current customers. The extra day, for example, could be your office day on which, of course, you’ll be also integrating your