sausage machine

here at sausage machine, we believe a key part of successful selling is learning how to prioritise time, and focus on what’s important to bring in those all important deals

urgent vs important

using a priorities matrix like the one above will help determine what’s urgent and what’s important or otherwise and how it should be dealt with

key commitments are both urgent and important – things that need to be managed right now and have a short-term focus, like a hot inbound lead from a poor, hounded prospect

strategic plans are less urgent, but still highly important – things that contribute to your mid- and long-term objectives, like building out those all-important account plans

interruptions are urgent, but less important – things that sap energy & time but add nothing to longer term success, like responding to an email not immediately related to selling something

distractions are neither urgent nor important – things that distract you from what really matters (selling!), like mindless chat with colleagues over an impromptu three-hour lunch

do now, defer, delegate or dump?

when combined with a priorities matrix, the four Ds will unleash some time management superpowers to boost productivity

do now – a key commitment that needs to be actioned tout suite

defer – a strategic plan that must be addressed but can wait to a later time/date

delegate – an interruption or distraction that can be delegated for someone else to do

dump – an interruption or distraction that can be dumped & forgotten about

the rundown

when an email lands, or the phone rings – run through a mental priorities matrix to determine which of the 4 Ds is needed

is this urgent and important? do now

is this neither urgent nor important? dump