Most inside sales managers I work with seem to face one of the same issues.
That each and every day there is a flaming hoop for them to jump through. PUS it’s never the same hoop, so there is the feeling that you can’t ever get ahead of the flames.
Which got me thinking about fire extinguishers.
Instead of lamenting the fact that there isn’t a way to get rid of the flaming hoops that pop up in your day, what if you built some skills that allowed you to put out the flames before you had to jump?
It’s still going to be a hoop, but at least there is no chance of getting singed on your way through.
#1 begin a habit of asking for priority before doing.
> Regardless of who is asking you to jump – this week ask questions before you start doing anything.
… what is the priority of the NEW task against the other things that person has asked of you?
… list your customer facing tasks you have on your plate and asking which they’d like you to handle first.
… ask for the why behind their request.
#2 share when you’ll be doing “it” instead of dropping everything.
> after you understand the priority, now you can give the person asking you to jump a timeline.
… this is critically important if you have to wait for someone else to get you information/data prior to completing the task.
… remind them of other meetings you have and demands on your time.
#3 find out if this request be repeated.
> is this an additional thing you need to add to your weekly to-do-list or was it a one off?
… you can add the hoop permanently to your schedule BEFORE it catches on fire
… find out if they have “how tips” on getting the flaming hoop done.
Here ends today’s lesson on managing your manager with a fire extinguisher.
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