productivity for sales

Productivity For Sales By James Muir

For the Southwest Region

3/8/2010

Prioritize Your Work

• The more successful you become the less

likely it is that you will be able to complete

everything every day.

• You will never get finished with everything.

• The best you can hope for is to complete the

most important things.

• At the end of the day you can go to sleep

knowing that you did the most important stuff.

Recommended Reading

• Eat That Frog

– Brian Tracy

Set the Big Six • Studies show you can only complete about 6 major tasks each day – Chet

Holmes Ultimate Sales Machine

• The Key to Success: 1. Set the Big Six

2. Prioritize the List

3. Focus on them Like a Laser until you are complete.

• Additional Tips while Performing the Big Six – Eliminate interruptions

– Refuse to look at email • Turn off email notifications

– Don’t take Phone Calls

– STUDY: Starting & stopping multiple

times while completing a task increases

task time an average of 50% - Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog

• Use a Tool – Outlook

– Planner

– Paper

– (I would like you to use Outlook)

How to Use the Outlook Tasking System • Turn on your Outlook Task Bar

– Right-Click To-Do Bar or

– Tools > Options > Other Tab > To Do Button

– Check Box “Show Task List”

• Sort your list properly – Right-Click Column Header > Customize Current View

– Fields [Priority, Start Date, Task Subject, Complete, Icon]

– Group By

• Priority

– Sort

• Start Date (Descending)

– Filter > Advanced Tab

• Dropdown Field > Date Time Fields > Start Date

• Set Condition to “on or before”

• Type in the Value field “Today”

– Format Columns

• Priority = “Bitmap with popup list”

• Start Date

– Format = x/x/xxxx

– Label = “Start Date”

• Task Subject

– Format = “Text”

– Label = “Task Subject”

– Width = Specific Width, 21 characters (or whatever works for you)

– Alignment = Left

How to Use Tasks • Use the Quick Entry Bar

– Type in your task subject

– Set priority

– Set date (if desired)

• Using the “New Task” Option

– Choose File > New > Task or

– Choose Task from the “New” button dropdown

– Type in your subject

– Set your start date

– Set your priority

– Setting Reminders for Tasks

• Use sparingly

• Dragging Email to the Task Item on the Control Bar

– Drag your email to the Task item on the Control Bar and drop

• Same as “New Task” Option

– Left-Drag vs. Right Drag

– Using ClearContext

Tips on Writing Task Subject Lines

• Always start with an action verb

• Make it a command to yourself

• Saves time by eliminating the need to think

• Examples:

– Schedule site visit for Southwest Cardiology

– Prepare for NCD EHR certification demo

– Stage system for ophthalmology demo

– Send James totally awesome Christmas gift

Prioritizing Your Daily List

1. View the categories of your list

– Collapse “Normal” and “Low” if necessary

– Review “Normal” tasks at least once a month

• Set a high priority task for this

2. Move each task by changing the date or priority

3. Narrow the list down to six or so tasks

– It’s unlikely you will do more than this anyway

4. Prioritize the list by dragging the items into the

correct order

5. Focus on the top priority until completed

When to use a Task vs. an Appointment

• Use tasks when:

– Specific timing during the day is

not important

• Use an appointment when:

– The specific time of day is

important

– To block out time for longer

projects

• Think: • Day Deadline = Task

• Time Deadline = Appointment

Using your PDA for Tasking

• Launch Windows Mobile

Device Center

• Connect Your PDA via USB

• Use the Tasking

Application for your Device

– iPhones do not support tasks

without additional software

– Recommend Pocket Informant

for Windows Mobile Devices

Managing email

• Get ClearContext Tool

– www.clearcontext.com

• Get X1 Indexer

– www.x1.com

Managing email • Clean up your email box

– Create a folder to hold Correspondence

• Throw everything into that

– Use X1 when you need to find something

• How to use X1 search

• How to use ClearContext

• Don’t use email as a Task List

– Emails can’t be prioritized very well

• Steps for Converting emails to Tasks

– ClearContext

– Drag to Task Icon

Performing an email Sweep

• Doing an email Sweep – Single handling

– If it’s a task – create a task w

appropriate date & priority

– If it is an event or a project –

schedule it

– To review it in the future –

Defer it

– Delete it

• Use Sorts to Manage

email Overload

Using your PDA for email

• 3 Different Devices

– iPhone

– Blackberry

– Windows Mobile

• If you are not technical have

Network Support set you up

• If you have some technical

understanding the server

name is:

– ngmail.nextgen.com

Use Your Outlook Calendar • “Things that matter most must never

be put at the mercy of things that

matter least.” -Stephen Covey

• In sales, we often fall victim to

allowing urgent things to take priority

over things that are important

• The best approach is to work from a

prioritized list of tasks

• The next best approach actually

schedule time for important things

– Lead Generation / Business

Development

– NCD Certification Training/Learning

– Ongoing Education (Ex. Sales, Medical

Industry, etc.)

• Setting Reminders

Create a Structure to Your Day

• Schedule a specific time for lead generation –

Get Off the Roller coaster

• Examples Daily Structures

– See examples

• Tips:

– There is no ideal structure

– Some people are morning people

– Some people are evening people

– Experiment

Structured Day Examples:

RVP Daily Routine

Wake Up 5:00 am

Take Vitamins 5:20 am

Take Computer and/or Book Down to Exercise Room 5:30 am

Exercise - 1 Hour Cardio

- 15 Minutes Weights

5:45 am

Shower, Dress, Meditate 7:00 am

Read 30 Minutes 7:30 am

Author Book 8:00 am

See Boys off to School 8:35 am

NextGen - Create Monday WebEx

9:00 am

Email Sweep - Voice Mail to Tasks

- Email to Tasks

- Review Master Task List

- Page 1 deals to Tasks (advances)

- Review Daily & Weekly Schedule

- Prioritize Tasks

9:30 am

Review / Advance Deals in Pipeline 10:00 am

Contact Sales Team - Ken Kontowicz

- Michael Stevens

- Jay Kurts

- Weston Black

- Terry Stewart

- Tim Neagle

- Trae Carter

- Terry Chamberlain

11:00 am

Lunch 11:30 am

NextGen - Research One Target Account

12:30 pm

Work Tasks 1:30 pm

Prepare for Next Day’s Work 4:00 pm

Daily Routine Wake Up 5:00 am

Take Vitamins 5:20 am

Take Computer and/or Book Down to Exercise

Room

5:30 am

Exercise - 1 Hour Cardio

- 15 Minutes Weights

5:45 am

Shower, Dress, Meditate 7:00 am

Read 30 Minutes 7:30 am

NextGen - Research / Work On One Target Account

8:00 am

NextGen - Call Leads, Schedule Referral Visits, Business Development

8:30 am

Email Sweep - Voice Mail to Tasks

- Email to Tasks

- Review Master Task List

- Page 1 deals to Tasks (advances)

- Review Daily & Weekly Schedule

- Prioritize Tasks

9:30 am

Advance Deals in Pipeline 10:00 am

Work Tasks 11:00 am

Lunch 11:30 am

Work Tasks 12:30 pm

Prepare for Next Day’s Work 4:00 pm

Suggested Morning/Evening Routine

1. Review Calendar

2. Review *recent* email

– Not a full sweep

3. Set the Big Six

Organizing Your Files

• Rule#1 – Save your stuff!

• Where you save it matters some

– But if you have X1 is not critical

• Examples of my experience (good & bad)

– Emailable Stuff

– Specialty Stuff?

– Marketing Stuff?

– PowerPoints

– PowerPoint Resources

Managing Voice Mail

• Google Voice

• Sends (poorly) transcribed

voice mail to your email when

received.

• Allows you to consolidate your

Voice Mail in-box with email

• Other services available

Summary & Conclusion

• Know the value of your time

– Annual income / 2000 hours

• Any time you can use:

– Practices / Techniques

– Technology or

– Money

to save time – Do so.

Create examples for X1, ClearContext &

Files

• X1 – ENT Case Study

• ClearContext –

• Google Voice –

Speaker

• 25+ Years in Revenue Cycle Management & Billing Service

Administration

• BA, Brigham Young University

• Author, 2 books, hundreds of articles including articles for the MGMA

Connexion and Advance For Health Information Executives

• Educator for many organizations including various MGMA chapters and

Metro managers groups.

• Certifications from IBM, 3Com, Miller-Heiman, Franklin Covey and JES.

• Longstanding active participant with MGMA & HFMA

James M Muir VP Sales NextGen Healthcare – Southwest Region NextGen Healthcare Speaker, Author, Educator www.linkedin.com/in/puremuir/ jmuir@RCMguy.com