In his book “The Power of Human”, Adam Waytz, a professor, and psychologist at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, narrates an anecdote about an immigrant to the US, who believed that the word “busy” actually meant “good”, because when he asked people, “How are you doing?”, they often responded, “Busy!”. 

Apart from this entertaining story, an analysis of Gallup data by the Harvard Business School found that the percentage of employed Americans who reported that they “never had enough time” rose to 80% in 2018, from 70% that was back in 2011.  There are quite a few reasons why we came in this situation.  Primarily, according to studies, this is the way that our brain is wired.  Overall, as humans, we dislike idleness, and when faced with an issue, we tend to act, even if it is counterproductive and doing nothing might seem the best option.  Moreover, a recent study from behavioural scientist Jared B. Celniker, in the US, South Korea and France showed that people view those that put high effort as morally admirable, no matter what the output of their effort is. 

Despite our natural tendency for action, corporate cultures are also partially to be “blamed”, mainly because busyness has become a symbol of status.  The legendary NCAA basketball coach John Wooden, once said, “Never mistake activity for achievement”, but companies keep falling into the “busyness trap”, in spite of considerable amount of proof which show that being busy does not mean that we are productive.

With regards to Sales, as Sales professionals we also find ourselves falling into the same trap, where we act as if success means a completely full calendar and a “to do list” with each item being perfectly crossed.  While keeping busy can help us stay focused and motivated, if we are always too busy, we may end up being less productive due to stress and burnout and lack of time to devote to each customer or prospect.

The key to Sales productivity is prioritisation, focus and efficiency in managing Sales activities.  As salespersons, we should prioritise our work to ensure that we are investing our time and resources on the most critical activities.  We should also concentrate our attention on the customers and prospects that are most likely to convert to Sales, and, of course, we must always look for opportunities to work smarter by leveraging technology, automation and other tools that can help us streamline our work and manage our time more efficiently.

In all the above, the role of Sales leaders is absolutely critical, as we have to make sure that we build Sales organisations with defined Sales processes that will ensure a balanced approach, which values productivity over simply staying busy.  Moreover, through the use of coaching, we should constantly remind our salespeople that being productive means doing the right things at the right time.