Work or Play?
Work or Play?
It is coming up to that time of year … SUMMER VACATION! … Remember how it was to be a kid? Take off 3-months and have fun, not a care in the world, and when you got back to school in the fall, you just kind of started where you left off. Well, as sales professionals, we are always on – we really never leave and start up gain. When is it okay to take a break? And how long is it okay to go without checking email, voicemail or other customer contacts?I believe that we all need to take time away, and as Steven Covey states “sharpen the saw”, but the real question I see people struggling with is how long? How can I walk away from my business for a week or two, without addressing concerns that come up with my customers? I personally have never been able to walk away for more than a day; does that make me a work-a-holic? Or maybe an over concerned sales person? I work with Europeans, and it is in their culture to walk away for weeks, let alone days. Shut off the cell, laptop and phone and not respond to anything. I don’t know how they do it, or how they handle the stress of coming back to an email inbox that has hundreds, if not thousands, of unanswered mails? Personally, I check mail every morning, vacation or not, and spend 15-30 minutes addressing anything that needs my input. I take the rest of the day that I’m on my holiday and enjoy it, knowing that there isn’t anything that I overlooked. I also know that with all the cutbacks that have occurred at our factories and companies, there is much less support available that will take care of my issues. I feel more relaxed doing it this way then I could possibly come back to 600+ emails after a week “off”. Reading those emails will waist 1-2 more days of not selling, or what our customers think, ‘not caring’ … There is nothing wrong with taking your laptop with you on vacation, or scheduling 30-minutes a day to review your inbox. If you write a mail during this time, it’s also okay to tell your customer “I am on vacation this week, but will have this person look at it, or will get back to you next Tuesday” … Believe it or not, our customers are people too, and they will (should) appreciate that you need some time off just like they might. This blog is not a suggestion; it’s just the way I handle my time off. If you’ve felt more stressed after that first day back from vacation then before you left, you might be able to work and play at the same time!
If you are having a problem with time management, give us a call at;
Pinnacle Sales, LLC
418 Main Street, Suite 6
Belleville, MI 48111
(734) 516-0221
Pinnacle Sales is an agency that offers support to clients in any part of the sales & marketing process. From planning to implementation, business development to training, Pinnacle Sales offer Service Above the Rest.