by Hal Alpiar

To figure out whether or not time is managing YOU, draw a bullseye with two rings around it and label the center space: FAMILY & PERSONAL, then label the innermost ring space: WORK & BUSINESS, and then label the outer ring space: FRIENDS & OTHER ACTIVITIES.

Then copy each heading onto a separate column or separate piece of paper. Then list the most appropriate items/people/places/things in each category. Allow one minute per list.

Put the list down and walk away. Get some water or a cookie or just stare out the window. (This is like a little ginger between sushi pieces.) Then return to your target and lists. The amount of blur between your bullseye and your next two rings will indicate how “fastlane” your life is right now.

I say “right now” because this is a here and now exercise: what goes in each part of the target can change by next week, tomorrow, tonight, or within the next 6 seconds! In fact, when life gets too hectic, it’s a useful device for daily assessment, for helping you sort out and stay focused on priorities.

Whatever blur does occur, whatever lack of definition exists between the 3 areas should give you a good heads up on how efficiently or inefficiently you are using your time, as well as the extent of your allegiances to each entity that is taking time and attention from your life.

Once you’ve done this little diagnostic study on yourself, and have a good overview of your current activities and involvements, you need to decide if these pieces are where you want them to be.

Are you spending too much time with your business and not enough with your family, for example? Or, are you so caught up in someone else’s problem that you haven’t made time to solve your own?

I once found myself so sucked into a Chamber of Commerce project to boost town retail traffic, that I ended up working nights and weekends just to catch up with my own business (which was not retail and stood to gain nothing from the initiative).

The crunch infiltrated my time commitments to my family. The small disruptions that surfaced were clearly the tip of cataclysmic explosion.

I extracted myself from the C of C mission and discovered — lo and behold! — the retailers I was knocking myself out to promote didn’t care enough to pick up the ball for themselves… AND, without all the volunteer work distractions, I was doing a better job of selling

This is NOT to suggest that voluntary community work is not worthwhile. It most certainly is. But I highly recommend such engagements be clearly defined, clearly justified, and clearly scheduled.

Plus –realistically — where choice is involved (vs., i.e., an emergency), no one should ever commit to helping others who is not coming from a position of strength to begin with.

A sick salespersonh is an ineffective salesperson. A cashpoor salesperson cannot donate to charities. A sales rep who’s preoccupied with family survival issues or debt collection issues cannot be an effective sales leader.

Draw your target again tomorrow. See if anything changes. Can make something change? Maybe if you stop juggling one fewer seagull, it will fly away!

Here is a reprint from a recent post in one of my LinkedIn Groups by Kavin Williams National Sales Director at MCF.

“The reason why sales professionals, in your organization, continue to struggle with uncovering opportunities, and closing business, is because they are either unaware of The Selfish Bastard Rule or are unable to adhere to it. The same is true for the majority of chief sales executives, whose sales strategies are driven by nothing more than a wild guess; and sales managers, who offer nothing to their sales teams except a watchful eye over their shoulder.

The Selfish Bastard Rule has two parts: (1) Buyers prefer to buy outcomes, not solutions, offerings, or commodities; and (2) Decision-Makers, when possible, will act in their own interest over that of their employer.

Any disconnect that occurs between buyers and a sales professional is due to the fact that while buyers prefer to buy outcomes; sales professionals sell solutions, offerings, or commodities. Simply put, they are not buying what you’re selling! Instead, buyers are left to figure out which solution, offering, or commodity offers them the best possible chance to gain the outcome they are seeking to buy in the first place. As a result, business is normally awarded to prospective vendors by default.

Hint: If you are an inward looking sales professional, sales manager, or chief sales executive whose activities are driven by what your company or product is or does, instead of the outcomes you can deliver, you are relying on the relative incompetence of your competitors to win or grow your business.

Your best chance of enhancing your sales performance and growing your business lies in your ability to: • fully capture your prospects’ desired outcomes • communicate that your company was founded on, and continues to be driven by, delivering those specific outcomes to similar organizations • further communicate that your company developed whatever you’re selling, specifically to deliver the outcome your prospect is looking to buy In other words, sell outcomes.

All decision-makers are driven to make purchasing decisions based on their need to either gain a desired outcome or avoid an undesired one. It’s that simple. Hence, your mission to be a more effective sales professional, if you choose to accept it, is to lead with your prospects’ desired outcomes and position your company, its offerings, features, and benefits as a means to deliver it.

Adopting an outcome-based sales approach is not a departure from solution or consultative selling, but, rather, the next evolutionary step. Although it is a small step, it’s a significant one. When selling outcomes, it is critical that sales professionals make the distinction between the outcomes of the company being called upon and those of the actual decision-maker. While they will share desired outcomes, it is important to note that among the desired outcomes not shared by both, those of the decision-maker will often take precedence.

Finally understanding and adhering to The Selfish Bastard Rule is critical in enhancing the competencies of sales professionals at all levels. It also serves as an effective guide for chief sales executives, who wish to set a strategic direction that will grow their business and improve their market share, and sales managers who wish to be active in leading high performance sales teams.”