The sales life…so much to do in so little time. How do you optimize your days? Do you have favorite tasks? And how do you reward yourself for completing your not-​so-​favorite activities? These are a few of the questions Salesforce asked recently. Read on to learn how you stack up against the typical salesperson.

Your Rituals

You’ve heard about superstitious baseball players. And then there are performers who always need to wear a certain color, or they fear everything will go wrong. Did you know 24% of sales reps are superstitious about selling? If that sounds familiar, you may have specific rituals that you believe will help you close the sale. For example, 36% of sales reps check their email as soon as they get up. That practice could help you adjust your schedule for the best outcomes.

Your Favorite Sales Activity

Another reason sales reps check email may be because they are following up on their favorite activity. Did you know half of sales reps say they enjoy relationship building more than any other aspect of sales? This admission tells us what we’ve known all along, sales reps love interacting with other people. 

Your Outreach

Part of relationship building involves initial outreach. Here’s where reps spend the most time prospecting:

• Social media 25%
• Referrals/​networking events 25%
• Prospecting tool 22%
• Cold calls 16%
• Search engines 9%
• Trade publications 3%

The 280 sales reps who participated in the Salesforce survey also have strong beliefs about when they should reach out to prospects. At least 46% indicate Tuesdays work best for them. They may be onto something. The Selling to SMBs survey conducted by SalesFuel asked over 1,100 CEOs and other key decision makers when they want to be contacted by sales reps. The best days for sales reps to connect with prospects and clients are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In addition, 45% of SMB decision makers prefer to be contacted between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Based on these findings, you may want to adjust how you manage your time and activities every day.