Once again I showed a tip to a sales rep that is so simple but so effective. The application we are using is ACT, but this could be done with any CRM.
We were going over his processes and were discussing how to make his sales calls more effective. Lately, we are spending quite a bit of time doing business and sales coaching. One thing that frustrated my client was going out to call on someone and they were not there or had been called away. This happens quite a lot, even with a scheduled meeting. For some reason, a lot of people think it is "ok" to skip a meeting with someone who is coming to try and sell a product. Sad, but true.
That's when I showed him this tip - lookup the area where he was going to focus - in this case it was a particular county. Then, sort that list by zipcode and print it out. That way, if the client he was calling on was not available, he had a list of people in the same area that he could call and check if they were available.
In every training session I do, I show this tip and have heard back from people that it works. Several months ago I made a quick Work Harder Not Smarter video showing how to do this in ACT.
As our lives get busier and busier, it is wise to look at ways to make things more efficient. And I enjoy teaching those tips. The coaching side of the business is turning into one of my favorite parts of the day.
P.S. Here's a link to that video: Clients by Zip code in ACT