Jobs In Sales And The Paperwork Nightmare

Once of the biggest contradictions for people in with jobs in sales is that between the need to be out selling to people but also to keep up with necessary paperwork. I say paperwork, these days it's as likely to be form filling and e-mails on a laptop, but it all amounts to the same thing. If you are like myself, and most of the peoplw with jobs in sales I have worked with, paperwork is possibly the least attractive thing on the agenda, and also the one least likely to contribute to this months bonus!

One thing I have learned is that it only gets harder to bigger the pile gets. Also, the bigger the pile gets, the more of a distraction it becomes to the concentration, which 'can' have an effect on this months bonus. Here's some advice on how to deal with paperwork in the form of the 4 D's

1. Do something with it straight away. So many of the things we receive can be despatched immediately with very little effort, whether it's clearly junk mail, or an e-mail simply needs a 'yes' or 'no' answer, devote at least 10 seconds to see whether a further 20 seconds will avoid it joining the growing pile. I reckon you'll find at least 30% of paperwork for jobs in sales coming your way fits this category.

2. Delegate it to someone else. Once again, a quick 10 seconds should determine whether or not you can pass this on to someone else to deal with. Depending upon your role, this can be a huge reliever of time pressure. As a sales manager, you may often feel best qualified for a task. However, if someone else can do it, you may be able to devote more time to doing something that nobody else can do.

3. Defer it until you can allocate the time to do it. The benefit of this is once you allocate a slot in your diary to deal with this, you can remove it from your mind and create space for something else you do need to do now. You must, of course, ensure that when the time does arrive in your diary, you do follow through and complete the task.

4. Dump it! Yes, if it's paper, straight into the round cabinet (the bin!) or on a computer, hit that delete button. Jobs in sales are notorious for recycling as much as 40% of stuff which reaches you desk is rubbish and simply serves as a distraction as long as it sits on your desk. It's probably one of the most therapeutic exercises you can do with paperwork.

In summary, for jobs in sales it's a necessary evil that will always exists. Use the 4 D's to minimise it and miximise the time you have to sell.

Good luck.