Most sales professionals lose an average of two to three hours each day doing meaningless things and not doing the productive things that can help them succeed. Bill Blades, author of Top Gun Selling (Cypress Mountain Books, 2001), offers the following advice on how sales professionals can prioritize their activities and increase professional productivity.

1. Study successful people and take a page from their book. The same methods that work for them can work for you.

2. Understand the needs and motivations of your major customers and hottest prospects; doing so will make your selling effort more successful.

3. Don’t spend major time on minor things. Spend less time on administration and more time with prospects and customers.

4. Don’t spend major dollars on minor things. Focus your resources where you can get the most from your investment.

5. Welcome change. Without a willingness to change the way you do things, the next five years will be the same as the last five. Work harder on changing yourself and be willing to try different approaches.

6. Seek new ideas and implement those that can make a difference. It’s often a few simple ideas that can help you achieve remarkable success.

7. Along with developing your specific selling goals and objectives, develop an action plan that lists everything you will do to reach them.

8. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Never fail to do the basic things that lead to the sale, but try to put your own original twist on them.

9. Never stop learning. Invest at least one hour each week in education and self-improvement.

10. Saturday is not a holiday. Saturday is the day to prepare for success. Use Saturday morning for planning, reviewing and administration.