When it comes to PTO, sales professionals need regular breaks just as much as anyone else. As tempting as it might be for sales teams to avoid taking any time away from their lead pipeline, we all need moments to refresh and recuperate every so often. According to reports, taking just 4 weeks off a year grants more total productivity than working throughout the full 12 months.
The question for most sales professionals, is how do you take personal time off, without worrying about your sales pipelines?
As mentioned above, when it by taking PTO, sales professionals can improve their overall productivity, as well as reducing their risk of burnout. According to author Shawn Actor, time off can improve a salesperson’s satisfaction levels, and happiness in team members can lead to sales increases of around 37%!
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to make the most of personal time when you’re constantly worrying about lost opportunity and dwindling pipelines. With this in mind, one of the best things a sales professional can do, is make sure they’re prepared for their time away from work.
Before going anywhere for personal time off, a sales professional should make sure they have full control over their sales pipeline. Taking action on as many deals in your pipeline before you leave will ensure you’re not falling behind when you’re not at the office. Some sales professionals even find it easier to ramp up their activities before taking PTO, so they feel as though they’re still on track to reach their quota.
If you’re dealing with a deal in the middle or bottom of the funnel, mention your upcoming absence to increase urgency and push the sale. For top-of-funnel leads, you can schedule follow-ups and meetings which take place after your time off.
Aside from progressing deals as much as possible before taking personal time, sales professionals can also take a range of other steps to get their pipelines in the best possible position. For instance, using workflow automation tools can allow you to put repetitive tasks on autopilot, so you can keep working on your deals when you’re away.
Workflow automation tools can automatically drip content and emails out to your contacts to help with nurturing leads. You can also use the same tools to notify team members and other people in the sales team when a deal is progressing, so they can follow up.
Other ways to make the most of your paid time off include:
It’s also worth making sure you talk with the other sales reps on your team before you begin planning your PTO. If possible, you’ll want to ensure you and other crucial members of staff aren’t away from the office at the same time. When one critical salesperson isn’t available, another one should be there to ensure essential opportunities aren’t missed.
Taking paid time off when you’re in a fast-paced and challenging environment like sales can sometimes feel impossible. However, even the most successful sales people need to take time away from the grind every so often. Taking personal time can give you time to refresh your mind and come up with new ways to reach your sales goals.
Some companies even use things like “quota relief” to actively encourage their employees to take time off. Quota relief works by reducing the sales targets a professional need to reach in aa specific time if they’re going to be using their PTO.
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