Time Management for Sales Reps

"I'll delegate when I find good people." Translation: "I'll trust them after they prove themselves." Plot twist: They can't prove themselves until you trust them. Break the loop. Delegate to develop. Here's how: 1️⃣ What should you delegate? Everything. Not a joke. You need to design yourself completely out of your old job. Set your sights lower and you'll delegate WAY less than you should. But don't freak out: Responsibly delegating this way will take months. 2️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Your Boss The biggest wild card when delegating: Your boss.  Perfection isn't the target. Command is.  - Must-dos: handled  - Who you're stretching   - Mistakes you anticipate   - How you'll address Remember: You're actually managing your boss. 3️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Yourself  Your team will not do it your way.  So you have a choice: - Waste a ton of time trying to make them you?   - Empower them to creatively do it better?  Remember: 5 people at 80% = 400%. 4️⃣ Triage Your Reality - If you have to hang onto something -> do it.  - If you feel guilty delegating a miserable task -> delete it.  - If you can't delegate them anything -> you have a bigger problem. 5️⃣ Delegate for Your Development  You must create space to grow. Start here:   1) Anything partially delegated -> Completion achieves clarity.  2) Where you add the least value -> Your grind is their growth.  3) The routine -> Ripe for a runbook or automation. 6️⃣ Delegate for Their Development Start with the stretch each employee needs to excel. Easiest place to start: ask them how they want to grow. People usually know. And they'll feel agency over their own mastery. Bonus: Challenge them to find & take that work. Virtuous cycle. 7️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Your Team  Good delegation is more than assigning tasks:  - It's goal-oriented  - It's written down  - It's intentional When you assign "Whys" instead of "Whats", You get Results instead of "Buts". 8️⃣ Climb The Ladder Aim for the step that makes you uncomfortable:     - Steps over Tasks  - Processes over Steps  - Responsibilities over Processes  - Goals over Responsibilities   - Jobs over Goals  Each rung is higher leverage. 9️⃣ Don't Undo Good Work Delegating & walking away - You need to trust. But you also need to verify. - Metrics & surveys are a good starting point. Micromanaging - That's your insecurity, not their effort. - Your new job is to enable, motivate & assess, not step in. ✅ Remember: You're not just delegating tasks. - You're delegating goals. - You're delegating growth. - You're delegating greatness. The best time to start was months ago.  The next best time is today. 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more posts like this. ♻️ And repost to help those leaders who need to delegate more.

Last quarter I watched one of my top clients scramble to hit quota. He was the THIRD highest performer in his company (out of 10 reps). His activity levels were high. His close rate was even better. But something was VERY wrong... When we looked at his calendar, we discovered he only had THREE discovery calls the ENTIRE MONTH. The pipeline was a mirage. Here's the hard truth most sales leaders won't tell you: Activity ≠ Results Another rep I know made 14,000 calls in a month without booking a SINGLE meeting. Elite performers don't just work harder - they work DIFFERENTLY. 👇 THE ELITE PROSPECTING FRAMEWORK 👇 This is the exact system I've used to build a 7-figure sales career and coach hundreds of reps to double their pipeline in 30 days: 1️⃣ BLOCK YOUR CALENDAR RELIGIOUSLY Schedule 8 hours of dedicated prospecting time weekly (2 hours per day, Mon-Thu) Make these blocks SACRED - nothing overrides them Set them early (8-10am) when your energy is highest Put them as recurring meetings in your calendar NOW Label them clearly: "PROSPECTING - DO NOT BOOK" 2️⃣ RESEARCH BEFORE YOU REACH OUT Dedicate a separate full 2-hour block weekly just for research Validate contact data quality (bad data = wasted time) Identify true buying signals (not just basic triggers) Create a targeted list of 50 PERFECT prospects Document 2-3 personalization points for each target Use tools like LinkedIn, company news, and your CRM data 3️⃣ TARGET THE RIGHT ACCOUNTS Quality ALWAYS trumps quantity Focus on 50 perfect-fit accounts, not 500 random ones Build your list based on clear ideal customer criteria Segment your list by industry, pain point, or use case Prioritize accounts showing buying signals Remove any contact with questionable data quality 4️⃣ EXECUTE WITH PRECISION When you sit down to prospect, it's EXECUTION time only No researching, no planning, no "figuring it out" Follow your pre-built list in order of priority Mix methods: calls, emails, LinkedIn, video Track your results meticulously Adjust your approach weekly based on data 5️⃣ LEVERAGE YOUR SDRs Schedule weekly 15-minute alignment sessions Coach them on messaging that's working for you Give specific feedback on recent meetings they've booked Share your target account list with them Create a feedback loop on what's generating responses THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES! My client implemented this system and went from 3 to 8 Enterprise discovery calls per month. That's 166% more pipeline. That's 166% more potential commission. That's the difference between missing quota and crushing it. The math is simple but brutal: If your prospecting is inconsistent, your results will be too. If your calendar doesn't protect prospecting time, it won't happen. If you're not tracking the right metrics, you can't improve them. Want to prospect better? Start with a great cold email: https://lnkd.in/gKSzmCda

I used to think hustle was the key to high performance. Then I learned the real secret: REST is the most powerful RGA. Most sellers grind themselves into dust chasing performance. But I’ve coached 100s of top performers—and the highest earners don’t work more hours. They master their energy. Here’s how I worked 40 hours a week (never work nights or weekends) and still outperformed 99% of reps: Let’s flip the script on what it takes to be a top performer in sales. Everyone talks about RGAs—Revenue Generating Activities. But no one talks about the energy required to do RGAs well. If you want to prospect with intensity, sell with presence, and close big deals— You need rest. At a mastermind recently, someone called it the “Ultimate RGA”: Rest Generating Activities. Because without rest, RGAs fall apart. You’ll be foggy. Reactive. Distracted. You’ll confuse activity with impact. Here’s how I train reps to recharge intentionally—so they can win without burnout: 1. Plan 4 Vacations a Year I pre-block 4 weeks off annually. They’re non-negotiable. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hawaii or your local mountain trail— The key is knowing you are unavailable. Not half-working. Not checking Slack. Fully present. Fully off. 2. Track and Protect Your Sleep I use a WHOOP. You can use anything. But if you're not sleeping 7+ hours, consistently, you’re underperforming. You can’t bring intensity to your calls when you’re running on fumes. Sleep is a performance multiplier. 3. Calendar Block Your Breaks My calendar is blocked 12–1 PM every day. Lunch with my wife. A walk. Or just quiet. Three hours of deep work → 1 hour of recovery → back for the final sprint. Burnout doesn’t happen from work. It happens from nonstop work. 4. Ruthless Time Boundaries I stop work at 5 PM most days. No nights. No weekends. Ever. You don’t need 70 hours a week to crush quota. You need to stop saying yes to distractions and start owning your schedule. Parkinson’s Law is real: The less time you give yourself, the more efficient you become. 5. Say No to Busy Work I use the 12 Week Year system. Everything I do ties back to a goal. Internal meetings? Minimized. Slack and email? Batched and time-boxed. If it doesn’t move pipeline or drive impact, I don’t touch it. If you’re working 60+ hours and still missing quota... It’s not your work ethic that’s broken. It’s your calendar. Stop measuring your week by hours worked. Start measuring it by energy invested in what matters. You don’t need to grind harder. You need to recharge better. Work less. Sell more. Live fully.

Most sales managers won't admit this, but it's smart to give up on prospects. I’m sure you’ve heard legends about the dogged salesperson who finally booked a meeting with their dream prospect after calling them every single week for a decade straight. Sadly, that sort of "pleasant persistence" is a misguided waste of time. They would have booked far more meetings had they used those extra dials on prospects who would have answered far more quickly. You only have only so many "sales calories" you can expend in a given day. If you care about booking meetings (and not just winning the activity leaderboard), draw lines of diminishing returns so you know when it's time to give up and move on to the next prospect: 📲 5 dials in 4 weeks: When you’ve literally cold called someone every week for a month straight, give them a rest for a month and try calling other prospects for now. ☎️ Stop after 2 voicemails: 2 voicemails is enough to reap the benefits of increasing your email replies. Don’t waste time leaving a 3rd. ✋ Avoid impassable gatekeepers: If they keep shutting you down, avoid them by calling your prospect’s cell, contacting them on other channels, or dialing at off-hours. 👻: If a prospect you've met is "ghosting" you, draw the line at 30 days. After absolutely nothing back from them in a month, move them to a quarterly drip sequence.  ____ "Giving up" on prospects doesn't mean you're giving up on selling. It simply means you're using your brain and allocating your limited effort into the prospects you have the best chance of winning. Do not take pride in endless followup to non-responsive prospects. Focus on effectiveness instead of blind persistence. 

How I run sales meetings that lead to next steps 90% of the time. Running a successful sales meeting involves clear communication before, during, and after. Often, attendees aren't sure what to expect, so we have to make sure to set the tone before the call even happens. So I send an agenda 24 hours prior to the call and include the following. • What topics will be discussed • Questions to answer beforehand • Use cases if applicable Also, make sure to do some research about the company so you have context. No one likes an unprepared sales rep. During the call immediately set expectations. • Ask if they have a hard-stop • Refer back to the email to set the agenda for the call • Mention that you did some research and tell them what you found Be an active listener and ask deep discovery questions to uncover pain. As the call wraps up, make sure to leave 7-9 minutes to guide them through the next steps. Here is an example: "Typically, when we see a problem like this, we would most likely include (x person) and (y person) on the next call to discuss how we help in that area. Would Thursday at 10am EST work for you?" I book these meetings directly from Calendly's browser extension while still on the call because it's quick, smooth, and instant. Calendar invites are sent before we end the call so you remove the possibility of being ghosted after. We still have work to do after you nail down the next steps. We ain't done yet. Send a summary email, not to do more selling but to recap for accountability. • What their main goals/priorities are • Timeline • Next steps When you have a system to run better meetings, it leads to great results. P.S. Do you agree with this framework? #BetterMeetings

How I saved +14 hours a week using AI. (the sales efficiency playbook I wish I had years ago) Here’s the truth: You need a really good AI sales assistant / notetaker. But most AI meeting summaries are 50% fluff. They tell you what you already know and miss what you actually need. So instead of saving time, you still end up copy-pasting notes, searching for deal context, and scrambling before calls. Not helpful one bit! That was me.. …until I rebuilt my workflow using Sybill. (especially their new summaries + briefs features). Here’s the 5-step playbook I now follow: 1. Build your own summaries. Drag + drop sections, add custom AI prompts, hide the noise. No more generic “transcript dumps.” 2. Match the meeting. Demo ≠ Discovery ≠ Proposal. Let your briefs auto-adjust so prep always fits the call type. 3. Prep in minutes, not hours. Pull prospect research, past calls, CRM notes, and calendar context into one brief. You walk in fully prepped after a 2-minute skim. 4. Highlight what matters most. Want risks at the top? Competitor mentions? Action items? Make the critical info impossible to miss. 5. Close the loop fast. Turn summaries into instant follow-ups and clean CRM updates. No more hopping between ChatGPT, email, and CRM to get deals moving. The result? 14 hours a week back. Less scrambling. More selling. Make your AI tools give you YOUR time back!!

i tracked my last 100 discovery meetings at Distribute. The deals i closed all do the EXACT same thing: i ran the meetings like a hostage negotiator, not a salesperson. Not a sales rep. They assume everything will explode. But orchestrate like i was directing a Oscar winner. After 1000s of discovery calls at Outreach, Taplio, and 3 other ventures, here's the playbook that turns strangers into signatures: 1. The Pre-Game Stalk ==> (T-minus 2 hours) LinkedIn deep dive + their last 10 press releases + their competitor's latest moves + their CFO's Twitter complaints = ammunition Found a CEO complaining about missing Q3 targets. Opened with: "Saw you missed Q3. Here's how 3 companies fixed that exact revenue gap." Had their attention in 8 seconds. 2. The Opening Hijack ==> (Minutes 0-3) Them: "So tell us about your company..." Me: "I will. But first—I spent 2 hours studying your business. I have 3 hypotheses about why you're here. Mind if I share them? You can tell me if I'm completely wrong." Right 87% of the time. Memorable 100% of the time. 3. The Reverse Discovery ==> (Minutes 3-15) Don't interview them. Diagnose them. "Based on your job postings, you're scaling SDRs but your close rate is tanking. That means either bad leads or broken handoffs. Which one's killing you?" They lean forward when you know their shit better than they do. 4. The Competitor Landmine ==> (Minute 20) "Quick question—are you talking to [Competitor]?" If yes: "Good. They're great at X. We're better at Y. Here's a 90-second breakdown of who chooses who and why." If no: "Good. They wouldn't solve your specific issue anyway. Here's why..." Either way, you just poisoned the well. 5. The Price Anchor Drop ==> (Minute 25) "Before we continue—this is expensive. We're talking $200-500k expensive. Should we keep talking?" The weak disappear. The real buyers get serious. Your pipeline gets cleaner (yay) 6. The Homework Test ==> (Final 5 minutes) "I'm sending you 3 things: 1. ROI calculator with YOUR numbers 2. 8-minute demo video of YOUR use case 3. One-pager your CFO will actually read (use Distribute for this) If you actually look at these, we'll have a second meeting. If not, we'll both save time. Deal?" People who do homework buy. People who don't were never buyers. —— Most reps run first meetings like job interviews. Begging for approval. Praying for next steps. Top reps run them like doctors. Diagnose the disease. Prescribe the cure. Let them decide if they want to live. Your close rate will thank you.

How To Eliminate 90% Of Meetings (And Win Back 20+ Hours / Week): 1. Meetings Are Killing Your Focus The average employee is stuck in 5+ meetings per day. Meetings have risen by 70% over the past two years. And while you're in those meetings? You're getting pinged on Slack and email. That's killing your productivity. How do you fix it? 2. Create "Deep Work" Zones Deep work is where the true magic happens. Look at your schedule and find a 3 hour period every day. Completely block it off on your calendar. I recommend scheduling it for the beginning of the day. Your work gets done, everyone else's can wait. 3. Set Expectations Tell you're colleagues you're trying something new. You've noticed your focus and productivity taking a hit. As a result, you've created blocks for "Deep Work" from X - Y time during the day. If it's a true emergency, they can reach you via X channel. 4. Don't Stop At Deep Work People will scramble to meet with you after your deep work period. Don't feel guilty or succumb to that. Instead, offer alternatives. I have a 3 step process: - Offer email - Offer video - Offer a 10 minute meeting Let's break down each: 5. Push Back With Email Someone dropped a meeting on your calendar? Send them a politely reply saying: "Hi, I saw your invite but I’m currently working to finish [Thing] by [Deadline]. Would it be possible to send over a summary via email? I'll get you my thoughts ASAP." 6. Push Back With Video Email isn't gunna work for them? Offer up asynchronous video! I prefer Loom. "Totally understand that it's a lot to type out. Would it be easier to record a video explaining everything? You can use a tool like Loom!" Video makes people feel seen. 7. The 15 Minute Meeting Can't skirt the meeting? Send an invite for a 15 minute slot Ask them to send all relevant info ahead of time Ask for a tangible outcome for the meeting This saves you time, while ensuring the other person gets what they need too.

If you're a VP of Sales, but your day is packed with pipeline reviews & deal approvals, you’re not leading - you’re micromanaging. I learned this the hard way. I once worked in a zero psychological safety environment where sales leaders were constantly reminded: "You’re only as good as your last deal." So I did what I thought any great leader should do - I made myself indispensable. 👉 I had my hands in everything. - Editing rep emails that didn’t need my input - Sitting on calls just to be busy, not because I added value - Jumping in to help instead of coaching my team to do it themselves I thought I was protecting my job. Instead, I was making myself the bottleneck. At the time, it felt like the right move. I wanted my team to succeed, and I thought the best way to do that was to be involved in everything. 👉 But here’s what I didn’t realize: The more I inserted myself, the less my team learned. The more I controlled, the less they took ownership. The more I tried to prove my value, the less I actually created it. This isn’t just a personal realization. It’s a well-documented leadership problem. Harvard Business Review’s February 2025 article, “Leaders Shouldn’t Try to Do It All,” explains why this happens: 💠 Leaders default to doing everything because they fear being seen as dispensable. 💠 Instead of focusing on what only they can do, they spend time on tasks others could handle just as well or better. The result? They become overworked, their teams become dependent, and nobody actually grows What I wish I had realized sooner is that a great leader isn’t measured by how much their team needs them. A great leader builds a team that runs smoothly when they step away. If your team falls apart when you’re out for a week, that’s not job security. That’s a leadership failure. 👉 According to HBR, here are three things Sales Leaders can do instead - 1. Audit your time. Look at your calendar. How much of your day is spent on things your team could handle without you? 2. Shift from deal reviews to skill coaching. You shouldn’t be fixing individual deals. You should be coaching reps so they can fix their own. 3. Delegate, then trust. If you don’t trust your managers and reps to execute, that’s a hiring problem - not a reason to micromanage. 📌 If you’re caught in the cycle of doing everything, ask yourself: Are you leading a team or just managing tasks? Enjoyed this post? Let me know in the comments & follow Leslie Venetz for more.

Want to know why top performers close 2-3x more deals than average reps? It's not that they're smarter. It's that they've mastered deep work. After studying hundreds of high-performing sellers, I've found one consistent pattern: They protect their prime selling hours like their life depends on it. Most reps are drowning in shallow work, constantly switching between email, Slack, CRM updates, and social media. Each task switch costs you 23 minutes of focused energy. The result is a day filled with activity but empty of results. Here's how innovative sellers are implementing deep work: 1️⃣ Power Blocks They schedule 90-minute uninterrupted blocks for their most important selling activities. No email. No Slack. No phone. Just focused execution on revenue-generating work. 2️⃣ Energy Management They align their most important tasks with their peak energy hours. For most, that's 9-11 AM, not 3 PM after back-to-back meetings. 3️⃣ AI-Powered Prep They leverage AI to prepare for sales calls in half the time. "I feed the AI my call notes, recent news, and past objections. It gives me a hyper-focused prep document in 5 minutes instead of 45." 4️⃣ Elimination Before Optimization Before trying to get faster at tasks, they ask: "Does this task even need to exist?" You can't optimize what should be eliminated. 5️⃣ Digital Minimalism They turn off all notifications during selling hours. No Slack pings. No email popups. No LinkedIn alerts. The sellers implementing these practices aren't working more hours. They're just getting 3x more value from the hours they work. Most sales organizations obsess over activity metrics while ignoring the quality of focus behind them. What would happen if you protected just one 90-minute deep work block every day?