Aug 21 in General discussion
Energy Management
Why in the hell are calls in the afternoon the worst?
This is a question I ask myself a lot. When I am fresh in the morning, the calls seem easier, the demos flow better, and I am overall a more cheery person (considering I have had my daily 400mg of caffeine). So why is it that the after lunch slump seems to be so hard to chat with prospects and push deals forward? Well maybe it is the wrong time... and that is the point.
Managing our energy is one of the most important things we can do as sales reps. If we don't learn this necessary skill, we wind up like that overcaffeinated man child that works at the Verizon store you avoid eye contact with because you can smell the sales on him. Pseudo energy created by stimulants and motivational videos will not carry you through for long. In fact, these sources of energy typically backfire after a few weeks leaving you burnt out and depressed. This is not effective energy management. Rather, managing your energy is about adequate rest, focused single-task work, and scheduling your day around your ENERGY (geez I sound like a yoga instructor).
What does it look like to schedule your day to work with your energy? For me, after I have timeblocked my schedule, I try and spend 15-20 minutes on a creative project like a prospect slide deck or putting together a demo for a client. This starts my day in control and gets me thinking creatively. I have the most creative energy in the mornings before I have dived into all the fire of email and slack. After this, I hit the phones or jump on my scheduled demos. I am great talking with people in the morning and I actually can engage with their problems and creatively problem solve. After a morning full of communicating on calls and demos, I typically crave an outdoor walk and lunch with 1 or two people. After talking so much, I personally find it hard to connect in a larger group as it takes more energy. After lunch is admin time. I have learned that I NEED some downtime from talking to people to actually process my notes, send email recaps, update the CRM, and just unwind with some less mentally taxing tasks. Since I start early, 2pm is the last hour of my day. I find that after about an hour of admin work I can take one or two calls and feel pretty energized for them. I typically try and not schedule BIG demos during this block, but more discovery type calls.
So why do I share my day with you? It is definitely not because I have figured out the perfect day (that is for damn sure). Rather, it is because I have found a way to work WITH my high and low energy fluctuations rather than AGAINST them. A few years ago, I didn't think about my energy levels at all. I just white knuckled it through my days and didn't block any time off for admin, prospecting, or creative work. I would find somedays just FELT better than others. When I started to pay attention to those days, I realized that they looked similar to the day I described above (and I didn't come home absolutely wiped out). The key is to learn how YOU work best and try and replicate it everyday. Schedule high engagement tasks (demos and calls) when you're at your best and give yourself some recharge time with some admin work. Trust me, just try it and see how it goes.
What does managing your energy at work look like to you?
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Energy Management
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