Trust Enablement

Improving Sales Performance with Enablement Recruiting, Consulting, Outsourcing, Coaching, and Insights on Strategies, Tactics, and Tools

Managing Priorities – Enablement’s Critical Skill

Managing Priorities is key to successAs an Enablement Professional, you and I know. Every day there are one or more critical requests coming your way. Managing priorities is your only way through the insanity.

The book, Atomic Habits by James Clear, is based upon the idea of small changes to habits that help you get 1% better each day. Learning to put your task list in the proper order is part of getting 1% better.

Enablement practitioners and leaders are not the fixers of all unexpected problems taking place in the business. The ability to execute against strategic priorities and deliver business value only occurs when you focus on the activities that truly move the needle. You have to get comfortable with knowing when to say no.

Managing Priorities So You Know When To Say No
The Enablement Charter

If you do not yet have a Sales Enablement Charter, you need to collaborate with your leadership and the teams you support.

This simple document acts as a contract between you and the organization, clarifying your responsibilities.

The Advisory Council

Use your Advisory Council to help with managing priorities; they are critical to your work.

The Advisory Council is your partner in defining priorities and, therefore, helps you know when to say yes and say no.

Quick Wins

Quick wins can sometimes be a good idea. If a request is rapid to implement, positively impacts the business, and will lead to positive “press” for your team, consider it.

However, take time to consider if the request truly is a quick win. Sometimes, these quick wins put you and your team on the hook for long-term work that genuinely is not strategic or in line with your objectives. 

Say no.

A single quick win may be something you can handle, but dozens of them will kill your productivity. Give yourself a fixed amount of time each day to work on these activities and stick to that set amount of time.

And then…

What if it’s coming from the boss?

You sometimes have to say no to your boss. However, as I would recommend with anyone, explain why you are saying no and recognize that your boss can override you.

Business is not a democracy, and sometimes you have to say yes even when no makes the most sense. When this happens, be clear of the impact of not saying no, smile, and get to work.

The Collaborator

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