How do you manage your time and prioritize your tasks in a fast-paced and dynamic pre-sales environment?

In my experience, below are the points which I prioritize: Identify high-impact tasks that directly contribute to closing deals and prioritize them. Break down complex projects into manageable milestones to ensure steady progress. Use time-blocking techniques to allocate dedicated focus time for key tasks.

Understanding when you are most productive is a game changer in a pre-sales role. For myself, I find I am far more productive in the morning, so I prioritise demo build and customer-related activities then. I then leave admin tasks to later in the day or perhaps even during my commute. Understanding the productivity period of your team is useful as it enables you to shift team meetings, 1:1's into times where productivity is not at its highest.

Entender sua produtividade e seu bloco de horários realmente muda o jogo. Costumo resolver de manh? as atividades mais difíceis e que demandam mais energia, concentrando em horários específicos para cada tipo de atividade, como liga??es, emails, LinkedIn e videochamadas.

In a fast-paced pre-sales environment, effective time management is critical. Prioritize tasks by urgency and impact on the sales process. Utilize tools like time-blocking to allocate specific periods for focused work. Regularly reassess priorities as situations evolve. Streamline routine tasks with automation, freeing up time for strategic activities. Maintain open communication with the team to align on priorities. Adaptability and a proactive mindset are key in navigating the dynamic nature of pre-sales, ensuring efficiency and optimal use of time.

And when you do that, the key skill is the ability to distinguish between what is Important and what is not. If you are a busy with activity, then almost everything on your list is going to appear Important. But if you shift your focus to Productivity, things will start becoming a little more clear. One way to address this clutter of perceived-everything-is-important is to leave things unattended for a while, use procrastination as a tool, and things that are not important will start presenting themselves so.

The most simple way to prioritise is to establish effort and impact. High effort low impact should be considered carefully…. Do they need to happen? Does it need to be this week? Low effort, low impact are filler tasks. High effort, high impact - be wise. You realistically won’t have enough time and resource to complete however impactful these items. Consider scheduling and delegation here. Low effort, high impact - unicorns, they come along rarely and it’s important to prioritise these items to be an impactful person.

Gest?o de tempo, uma tarefa nada fácil muitas vezes Como me organizo com as prioridades do dia a dia? Primeiro inicio o dia respondendo aos contatos quentes, fazendo os followups programados, depois sigo com os assuntos importantes mas n?o urgentes, até que consigo avan?ar para o que n?o é urgente e nem importante mas que merecem aten??o, exemplo, criar conteúdo, listas de contato, entre outros

However, when it comes to delegation, one thing you should be armed with is a team who you can depend on. You need to know who can you delegate this current thing at hand. Delegate to the wrong hand, and the priority will reappear on your list but with higher importance, and in with increased urgency with little time to act. Thus the key is to build a team of skilled people that you can depend on, and develop a culture of accountability.

One thing I have learnt - especially working in larger companies - is that there is almost certainly someone who is better at you at some specific tasks. Understanding where you can delegate and collaborate task around your team is the sign of a great Solution Engineer who cares about quality of work, efficiency and sharing ideas. For managers; building a competency matrix may be useful for mapping out SMEs in your team both technical and business-related.

Reducing manual repetitive tasks is quite important in sales. One area that can take time but is critical is admin. Looking at recording notes and leveraging AI to speed up the process to keep CRM systems up to date can save hours of time especially if you have an 8-10 meeting week. Another area is demos. Looking at short demo clips that can be leveraged for post meeting sharing is a quick way to focus on more discovery vs introduction demos. For example, product tour solutions for presales allow your customers and you to learn in a low touch environment. This improves their knowledge and your ability to relate to their business for higher impact demos.

In a high-pressure role like Presales, it's crucial not only to manage your professional tasks but also to maintain personal well-being. The balance between work and rest is fundamental, as it sustains long-term productivity and creativity. Understanding your own work rhythms and stress signals is key to managing workload effectively. Embrace productivity and wellness technologies. Tools like time tracking apps (e.g., Clockwise) can provide insights into where your time goes, helping you identify inefficiencies. Additionally, integrating mindfulness and wellness apps (like Headspace or Calm) into your daily routine can improve focus and reduce burnout.

Continuous learning is crucial in a fast-evolving field like Presales. Prioritising tasks means not only focusing on immediate goals but also dedicating time to develop skills and knowledge that will be valuable in the long term. Set aside regular time each week for learning and professional development. This could involve participating in webinars, attending industry conferences, or even informal learning sessions with colleagues. Applying new skills or insights to your work not only contributes to personal growth but also enhances the quality of your Presales engagements.

Staying relevant is non-negotiable. Continual learning is the only way. Here are a few things I do to stay current: 1. Learn about what's new in my industry, like trends, tech, and market changes. 2. Be ready to adjust to what my clients need and how the market is shifting. 3. Team up with sales, marketing, and product folks to make sure our pre-sales work matches our business goals.

Now there are many tools available for tracking tasks. The digital world provides you the ability on the go. But one of the most effective way is the time tested orthodox practice of keeping Year Book. Write your tasks, follow up tasks for delegated ones, reminders for dates that you need it. Review the task list on each page every Monday. Tick mark each page which has no-to-do-left, carry forward a pending To-Do to current or future weeks, and once all tasks for previous are checked or crossed and each page is ticked off (in the top right corner), tick off Friday page 4-5 times reminding you "this week is done", enjoy small sense of achievement. Many use this technique so effectively that nothing falls off crack. Try it to be amazed.