As you may have read in a previous post, each and every one of us is subject to the influence of circadian rhythms and our body clock. We are all influenced, every day, by the ups and downs of our energy flow.
This subject, combined with some of my own recent business experiences, got me thinking about the peaks and troughs that our businesses experience and the levels of productivity we attain during these periods.
The week after Easter I worked really hard trying to follow up with clients, chasing open proposals and attempting to connect with new prospects. At the end of the week I was exhausted, disappointed and generally de-motivated.
The reason for this is that here in the UK we have a holiday on the Friday before Easter Sunday as well as the Monday. The rest of the week is often taken as vacation to coincide with the school holidays and to get 10 continuous days out of the office using only 4 vacation days!
I know this. I know it’s like it every year. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I got a little carried away by all the great things going on at the moment. But I kept hammering away to little avail. The lights were only dimly on and nobody was at home. And yes, that applies to me too! But hey, I’m human and still make mistakes. At least this time I feel I've learned the lesson.
What would I have lost by focusing on work that I could just do in isolation and taking a couple of days out to spend with my own children? My guess is nothing. I could have a had a great week, enjoyed time with my kids and come back the following week refreshed and raring to go.
If we extrapolate my example across all the businesses out there, how many of us foresee, for example, the seasonal shifts and plan around them to maximise our productivity. How many of us waste time, energy and money in the wrong place and at the wrong time? Heading for a slow period? What a great time to give your customer facing staff some training. If there’s little going on it’s not going to hurt to take your sales reps off the road for a few days in order that they go back out there up-skilled and motivated right?
Incidentally, if you want access to the best sales training on the market, contact us please. We partner with a company that delivers astonishing results and we get great rates in the process!
The converse is also true. If there’s a busy period coming up you’re going to want to ensure that all your staff are ready to go, and absolutely not booked on training or out on vacation. In today’s business climate, a slow response to email, a couple of rings too many on the phone and that customer or prospect it gone. And then you have to spend a ton of money to get them back.
So to recap, let’s give some thought to planning around seasonal or industry peaks and slumps to maximise our productivity, results and motivation!
If you’d like help in planning for these events or more information regarding leading edge training programmes, please get in touch at andrew@acquirebusiness.net or go to my company site and use the contact form by clicking here.
Thanks for stopping by and please visit again soon.
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