Every day, we face situations that require our time and attention. Things such as claims, billing questions, coverage changes, sales opportunities, goal setting, training, and on and on.
Because we are involved in an industry that requires so much attention, we must be intentional with managing our time.
Taking back control of your time allows you freedom with your time. Let’s think about that.
You may ask…
How will I have more freedom with my time if I am intentional with my time management?
And more importantly…
What is the most effective way for me to manage my time wisely?
As sales professionals in the insurance industry, momentum is everything.
Consider the snowball effect. The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines the snowball effect as “a situation in which one action or event causes many other similar actions or events.”
In sales, we gain an edge and an advantage if we can structure our time in a way that allows for sales momentum or… the snowball effect.
Sales momentum creates a mindset and an environment that will attract more momentum and, in turn, lead to more policies written.
Tell me the activities that you do daily, and I will tell you the results you will get.
Understanding the Eisenhower Matrix aids us in knowing what activities to complete first and how to structure your day most effectively and efficiently possible.
In this Matrix, there are four classifications:
- Urgent & Important
- Not Urgent & Important
- Urgent & Not Important
- Not Urgent & Not Important
You are responsible for determining which situation/activity belongs in which classification.
As insurance sales professionals, our primary goal and objective is to sell; to write policies.
We all have our goals and things to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. With those goals in mind, we will better be able to structure our time to create momentum.
Suppose your primary goal as an insurance sales professional is to write policies. In that case, you will want to focus on activities that will get you closer to writing more policies before you do anything else.
Now, we are involved in an industry where most of the things we deal with are not necessarily urgent. Examples include underwriting emails, billing questions, paperwork, etc. Those activities won’t get us closer to writing more policies, but they are essential.
It’s a perfect opportunity to implement time management. We know from the Eisenhower Matrix that those are activities that we can schedule. Why not start your day with sales activities in hopes of getting some momentum for the day before jumping into service activities that you could schedule and do later?
The overall time management strategy in this is to utilize our limited time and energy wisely and strategically. To work smarter, not harder.
Because we are busy and many things require our time and attention, planning out your day will make sure things are getting done, and you are doing the things that will help you reach your goals.
When you are wrapping things up at the end of the day, you can take 5-10 minutes to plan out the next day. Doing so will create more freedom with your time.
As you focus on the activities that will get you closer to your goal first, before anything else, you will find that you can use sales momentum to your advantage.
