turns into loss of focus When multi-tasking

f necexrlv had a conversation lwith a sales manager. The gist of it is this: he has so manY competing responsibilities, it is difficultto spend time with his sales team.

Sound familiar? It should. I have heard that idea expressed countless times by executives, sales managers, and salespeoPle. In one way or another, sales professionals find themselves increasingly occupied bY trivial tasks at the expense of the important ones.

It is an epidemic that is raging unabated in our economy. It renders people unproductive and organizations oPerating at a fraction of theirpotential. It often comes from what I call "other stuff." Over the Years, I have seen this phenomenon become so pervasive that Years ago I labeled it and gave it its own acronym: OSE, for "Other Stuff Expansion."

The rule is this: When you give a proactive salesperson "other stuff' to do, the other stuff will always expand, taking more in time and energY than you anticipated and rendering the proactive sales efforts to an unacceptable smaller part of the Person's labors.

Here's how this looks in Practice. A branch manaqer needs someone to fill in a couple of hours a daY for a customer service Person who has taken a maternitY leave. "The salesman can do it," the branch manager thinks in a flash of inspiration. "He's got time."

Presto. The problem is solved.

But, alas, the couple of hours a day turn into a half day, and sometimes more, as the salesperson gets caught up in reacting to inbound calls. Those proactive sales calls that should have been made in that time are never made. The silent costs of that decision and the inevitable "Other Stuff Expansion" begin to be felt months down the road.

Or, you have a sales manager check out that Promising new product line, or write that new procedure because he/she "understands that," and, of course, you're too busY.

Or, you have inside salesPeople who also answer the Phone and respond to inbound calls, and you are constantly frustrated that they don't make enough outbound calls.

The examples can go on and on. A quick perusal of your sales efforts will unearth dozens more,I'm sure.

There's a simple explanation for this. Making proactive sales calls is a high risk effort that requires initiative, motivation and self-discipline. In other words, it's hard to do. That's one of the reasons why most people aren't salespeople. On the other hand, taking care of "other stuff is usually low-risk, easier and somewhat fulfilling. And, it keeps you busy.

That's why "when you give a proactive salesperson 'other stuff' to do, the other stuff will always expand, taking more in time and energy than you anticipated and rendering the proactive sales efforts to an unacceptable smaller part of the person's labors." It's the law of OSE.

In a bigger picture, OSE for sales personnel is just the specific application of a deeper rule. That rule is this: When you give someone something to do, you are, by that act, preventing him/her from doing something else. Or, to be more personal, when we accept the responsibility for doing something, we, by that action, eliminatethe possibility of our doing something else.

What sounds blatantly obvious is open reflection, so often violated that it has become one of the major productivity killers and one of the most common mistakes made today by managers and self-managers of all kinds.

Here are two solutions:

(a) Ii you have given -or are tempted to give-anyone who has proactive sales responsibilities other things to do, don't! There is always a greater cost than meets the eye. If you are a salesperson who has other stuff to do, try to hand it back to your manager or pass it on to someone else.

Be very careful about giving responsibilities, or accepting responsibilities, that detract from your core focus. In today's hectic, multi-tasking world, it is more powerful to say "no" than it is to say "yes."

(b) Okay, you can't do that. For whatever reason, your sales personnel must also do other stuff Plan B. Keep the division between the two sets of competing responsibilities as clean and sharp as you can. The other stuff should be well defined, have clear guidelines for completion, and be limited to a specific period of time.

For example, don't say this: "John, we want you to do this other stuff."

Instead say, "John, I'd like you to spend a half-day every other week doing this other stuff."

Bykeeping the divisions clear between the competing responsibilities, you limit the damage done by other stuff expansion.

In the long run, it's those organizations and individuals who focus on the core tasks and don't diffuse their efforts who succeed.

- Dave Kahle is a sales trainer. oresenter. and the author of a free wiekly ezine and l0 books, including his latest How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime. He can be reached at dave@ davekahle.com.

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Western Wood Preservers Institute welcomed Dwayne Carter, Brooks Manufacturing, Bellingham, Wa., as its new president during its annual meeting in San Diego, Ca.

Joining him on the board are new v.p. John Davis, Pacific Wood Preserving, Phoenix, Az.; secretary Patrick Tymkiw, Bell Lumber & Pole, New Brighton, Mn., and treasurer Jerry Farley, JH Baxter & Co., San Mateo, Ca.

Western Wood Products Association has reserved March 2-4 forits annual meeting at Embassy Suites Downtown, Portland, Or.

APA-The Engineered Wood Association drew nearly 400 to Huntington Beach, Ca., for its annual meeting (see p. l4-15 for photos).

Safety Awards were presented to Robert Fouquet, Ainsworth; Greg Anthony, Boise Cascade; Mike Dawson, Norbord; Tom Temple, Potlatch; Terry Secrest, RoyOMartin, and Steve Doffin, LP.

The APA board of trustees also elected two APA staff members to serve as officers of the association. Sonya Bachlmayr, financial & administrative services director, was elected treasurer, and Marilyn Thompson, market communications director, is now corporate secretary.

During the golf tournament, Scott Poole, RoyOMartin, won 910000 for sinking a hole-in-one.

Rallying Referrals

(Continued from page 29) plcrune rHrs: After a long day's |' work,you sink onto the couch and turn on the television. As you flip through the channels, you see a commercial for a new local restaurant. Later, as you scroll through your Facebook newsfeed, you see that a friend has checked in atthat same restaurant, posted a picture of his meal, and captioned it, "Delicious! Can't wait to come back." Which is more likely to make you reserve a table: the commercial or your friend's endorsement?

If you're like most Americans, you're much more likely to be influenced by your friends' recommendations (even if they're "just" online friends) than by ads. In fact, a recent Nielsen report reveals that 92Vo of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above all other types of advertisements. And, they're four times more likely to make a purchase when referred by a friend.

Here's the takeaway for businesspeople: Referrals are a huge, sparkly, tied-up-with-a-bow gift-and if you aren't already working to harness and maximize their power, it's past time you started.

Businesses are so busy focusing their energy on acquiring new customers that they often neglect one of their most valuable resources: active referrers. Though this may be a small percentage of your overall customer segment, setting up a basic program to support them and encourage their activity is well worth your time and resources.

In fact, if your company is delivering value to your customers, you probably already have active referrers-even if you aren't aware of