“Planning a consistent, productive sales schedule when working from home is so easy.” — No one ever
A salesperson’s daily schedule doesn’t only depend on managing their own time: They need to adapt their schedule and routine to the lives of their prospects and teammates.
Besides that, creating a remote work schedule presents its own unique challenges. Sales reps who work from home need to juggle family responsibilities, shared workspaces, and the normal distractions that come when you’re at home.
No wonder it’s so dang hard to plan a remote sales schedule.
So, how do high-performing reps successfully plan their day to work productively from home? Let’s dive into some expert tips from the remote sales team here at Close.
Creating a high-performance remote sales schedule: 8 hacks to structure your sales day
Structuring a remote sales schedule that helps you be productive isn’t easy. So, we talked to two high-performing AEs here at Close—James Urie and Kate Petrone—to see what hacks they use to stay productive at home.
1. Set up a normal morning routine
When you work in an office, you have a routine automatically set up for you: Get up, get in your car, drive to work. This repetitive routine tells your brain, “Hey, it’s time to work now.”
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And while flopping out of bed in the morning and hitting the phones in your pajamas may seem like a perk of working from home, it will hurt your sales productivity in the long run. Without a structured morning routine before you start work, you won’t be reaching your full potential during work hours.
I think one of the things that sets you up for success (and people might laugh at this): Get up and make your bed. Do whatever your normal routine is—get up, shower, go work out, drink your coffee, have your breakfast, and prepare yourself for an active day.
– Kate Petrone, AE at Close
So, find the right morning routine to help prepare yourself mentally for ‘going to work’, even though you’re not physically going anywhere. Although it may seem simple, this hack acts as the foundation for a more productive remote sales schedule.
2. Block time at the start of your day
The way you start your morning will determine how productive you are throughout the day. Once you sit down at your desk, what’s the first thing you do?
I block off the first hour of my day to look through priority action items on leads, go through emails. That helps sort of clear the air for me and helps me focus on new interactions with new leads with demos later in the day.
– James Urie, Senior AE at Close
Starting your day with a specific time block to focus on your priorities, answer emails, and listen to missed voicemail messages is a great way to get your mind prepared for the day. You can also use this early-morning time to look at your schedule for the day, organize any tasks you need to complete, or prep for meetings or demos you have later in the day.
Getting these priority tasks out of the way before you move onto other sales actions (such as cold calling) will help you stay focused when you’re actually talking to prospects later on in the day.
But, how do you know what your highest priority action items are for each day?
In Close, reps can see an Inbox view, listing all received emails, missed calls, voicemails, and SMS messages, as well as tasks that have been assigned to them for that day.
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This view allows reps to see their top priorities in one quick list, and take care of priority items first (or snooze the ones that aren’t as urgent).
3. Avoid a chaotic work environment by planning time for specific tasks
When you don’t have a specific remote sales schedule to structure your day, it’s easy to fall into the trap of chaotic work.
You’re working on an email, when suddenly you get a call. While on the call, you’re thinking about the product demo you need to do later. While doing the demo, you remember the email that you never finished.
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This vicious cycle of distraction not only hurts your productivity: it also prevents you from giving prospects the attention they deserve.
Here’s what our resident experts say about avoiding the chaos:
Structure your day in a way that caters to organization and focus. Make sure you’re not just living in this chaotic environment all day.
– James Urie, Senior AE at Close
I make sure I’m allocating specific time to get other work done, so I can give my full attention to meetings and not be distracted by something else I didn’t finish. I try to schedule out my day with everything, honestly. Then you’re able to compartmentalize your day and set time aside. For example, I know that when my calendar hits a certain time, that’s my time to make calls.
– Kate Petrone, AE at Close
Setting up specific time blocks for separate activities allows you to maintain focus and also boosts your sales motivation when working from home. And of course, with this level of structure in your remote sales schedule, you’ll be able to give your full focus to calls and meetings with prospects.
4. Leave space in your calendar for leads to schedule time with you
Your leads and prospects are the most important piece of your day. So, why not give them the first pick of your schedule?
Using your favorite scheduling tools, set aside your time blocks for focus work, but leave specific parts of the day open. That way, prospects and leads can schedule calls with you, and you’ll be able to focus better on those conversations knowing your other priority actions have already been checked off your list.
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5. Remember to take a break
This simple hack can make a huge difference in your remote work schedule.
We know that keeping up your sales motivation is tough to maintain in a remote environment. It’s difficult (if not impossible) to replicate that buzz and energy of the sales floor, and sitting at your desk all day, at home, can start to feel monotonous.
So, make sure that your remote sales schedule includes a break.
Definitely take a break. Make sure you disconnect for at least 30 minutes. Recharge, go for a walk, do something productive (not work-related), and then come back.
– James Urie, Senior AE at Close
I try to schedule out 15 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon to go for a walk or just get away from my computer for a bit. This helps me reset, keeps my energy up, and allows me to refocus and get everything done that’s on my list.
– Kate Petrone, AE at Close
6. Use communication tools to sync up productively with your team
In remote sales, communication with the rest of your team is key.
But how can you organize your sales schedule in a way that optimizes communication, and doesn’t mess around with your teammates’ schedules?
Slack has been a great asset. It’s a great way to communicate quickly with someone—if I have a question, I can just shoot it off to them and they can get back to me right away. Also, having a shared calendar. So, if I’m on a call with somebody, I can see the availability of my teammates. If I need to loop them in, I don’t even have to ask: I can just schedule it and invite them to the call in a time when their calendar is open.
– Kate Petrone, AE at Close
When you need to loop a team member into an ongoing call, the Call Coaching features in Close can also help. Simply hit the Invite button while on the call, and you’ll see which of your teammates are currently online. Then, you can invite them to jump into the live call.
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Using the right communication tools, you can stay in sync with the rest of your team without messing up your schedule or theirs.
7. Hit the reset button at the end of your day
Optimizing productivity at the start of your day actually begins with an effective wrap-up the day before.
I leave a small amount of time at the end of the day blocked to go back through and handle any priority items, or just clean up the rest of the queue for the day. It’s like hitting the reset button for the next day
– James Urie, Senior AE at Close
By blocking time at the end of your daily sales schedule, you’ll make sure you have time to finish any urgent tasks before the day finishes (and avoid spending your evening worrying about something that didn’t get done).
When urgent tasks are done, you’ll have a clean slate to start the next morning. Instead of allowing tasks to pile up in your inbox, you’ll be able to work through them productively.
8. Set clear on- and off-hours
Part of creating your ideal remote work schedule is setting a time to begin work and a time to end.
Of course, this will depend on your own schedule at home and the family responsibilities you need to take care of. But by setting your specific work hours (and your offline hours), you can ensure your work and personal life stay separate, and avoid the temptation to respond to late-night emails or keep checking your phone during dinner.
Schedule a stop-work time, shut your Slack off, and don’t look at your phone. Having that separation allows you to go in the next day feeling fresh, and you won’t feel like your home is your office. You need to have that separation in your mind: I’m working these hours, and I’m off these hours. And it’s important for your coworkers to respect that too. It’s nice to have that respect and trust with your coworkers that you’ll get back to them when you’re available.
– Kate Petrone, AE at Close
When you have a structured work schedule and make that transparent to the rest of your team, you’ll be able to ignore messages guilt-free until you’re back online and keep your home life separate from your work life.
Building the best remote sales schedule for your life
Ultimately, the best remote sales schedule will depend on you.
When are you the most productive? What kind of morning schedule gets you ready for an active day? What are your ideal start and stop times? How long should your lunch hour be?
The answer to these questions depends on you. Don’t shape your remote schedule based on a previous in-office schedule or someone else’s work from home schedule.
Your motivation, energy levels, and family responsibilities are unique to you: so, your remote work schedule should be tailored to you. Plan a schedule that makes sense for you, and be willing to adjust it as you go. Then, you’ll be ready for a truly productive day of remote sales.
Now over to you. How do you schedule your work day? What works for you, what are you struggling with? Any tips you can share? Let me know on LinkedIn!
Want a glimpse at the sales platform that’s helping remote sales teams around the world crush their goals and boost performance? Try Close for 14 days without cost (we won’t even ask you for your credit card).
