10 Time Management Tips for Direct Sales Reps

Feeling overwhelmed with the long list of tasks you need to complete as you grow your direct sales business? Sometimes, it feels like you can’t seem to finish up your tasks in time to get a break? Balancing your personal life and the many tasks you have as a sales representative can be challenging.

To save your sanity, you must develop and practice good time management skills. Although it might seem challenging at first, it will become a natural part of you with practice.

The tips below will help you gain control of what might feel like chaos at times.

1. Prepare a Daily Schedule

A schedule is all you need to have an organized day. Working without one will make it difficult to account for your time during the day.

So, creating a daily schedule will prepare you for the day's work. It will also help you avoid missing out on important activities. As you accomplish each task, all you have to do is to tick it off your list and proceed to the next. You'll be surprised at how productive this will make you.

2. Your Schedule Should Revolve Around Your Customers

Your business revolves around your customers, so you should spend most of your time working to satisfy them. This means that your work schedule should have more work-related activities and less personal activities.

3. Avoid Procrastination

Pooling or postponing tasks while doing nothing productive with your time will make your work more challenging. When you procrastinate, you tend to miss out on many things. For example, if you lose the credibility and trust your customers have in you, your sales success will likely drop, and other parts of your business might get affected. So, as tasks arise, tackle them immediately to give yourself time for other things.

4. Eliminate Distractions

A direct sales representative might seem like an easy job to handle, especially if you work from home. There is usually so much to do, so you should avoid anything that would make you lose focus while at work.

Whether it’s your kids, dog, or a noisy group sitting next to you at the coffee shop, learn to recognize when you're getting distracted and try to avoid those situations.

5. Set Aside Time Each Day for Prospecting

Successful salespeople in every industry dedicate time each day to prospect new leads for their pipeline. Most of us don't enjoy making cold calls or writing outreach emails, but if you set aside an hour every morning and focus on it, you'll be amazed how much you can get done in a week.
Instead of being on the phone every minute, set specific times to check and respond to emails. It will also help you ensure you don’t leave messages unattended for too long. Also, you can set aside an hour or two to send out emails and messages to your customers.

6. Do One Thing At a Time

Multitasking does no good; it makes it difficult to focus on one task at a time and give it your best. It is better to handle tasks one at a time to complete the job perfectly. Also, it saves you from making unnecessary mistakes. As a direct sales representative, it is essential to provide swift responses to customers; however, you should still take things easy whenever possible.

7. Take Short Breaks in Between Tasks

Working at a stretch can leave you exhausted, burned out, and unproductive. After each task, you can take a ten to fifteen-minute break. This will refresh you to tackle your remaining tasks.

8. Say "No" to Unnecessary Activities

Different activities will always come up. The purpose of a schedule is to help you plan your day. So, if a task that's not on your schedule comes up, you should be able to decline, except if it’s an emergency.

9. Get Enough Rest

Your body needs enough rest to function correctly, and stress has a terrible way of messing with mental health. That's why overworking yourself doesn’t do any good in the long run.

So, getting enough rest and sleep after every day's work is important. You can also take time out to play relaxing games, exercise, walk or hang out with friends or family. Aside from helping you stay fit, healthy, and happy, it also enables you to be productive at your business and manage time well.

10. Cut Down on Social Media Time 

Scrolling through social media platforms takes more time than you know. There is a lot of fun and exciting content on social media. So, even if you are taking a five to ten-minute social media break, there's a high probability that you'd exceed the time.

Cutting social media time will help you get more things done faster. Even if you'll use social media, it should be for a limited time that wouldn't affect your work.

Conclusion

Working with an MLM company or as a direct sales representative doesn't mean you shouldn't have a life of your own. The best way to do this is to manage your time effectively, and what’s more, it’ll help you maintain your sanity.

So, take time to breathe and incorporate some of the tips above into your work life, and you'll be shocked at the progress you'll make and how much time you'll be able to save for yourself at the end of the day.