How much of your daily grind is contributing in a real way to sales outcomes? How much is just a “rain dance” that makes you feel productive?
Would your sales pipeline look any different if you cut half of your activities and focused only on the high-value actions that truly impact results?
That is a tough question—one all sales reps should ask themselves regularly.
I first heard the phrase “productivity rain dance” from Chris Williamson, who highlights how everyone is busy, busy, busy, yet much of that activity is focused on the moment rather than long-term results. The concept aligns with Cal Newport’s warnings about pseudo-productivity in his book Slow Productivity. Newport emphasizes that the key to making time for high-impact work is first eliminating the lower-value activities that get in the way.
Some common examples of pseudo-productivity in sales include:
- Working longer hours but accomplishing nothing meaningful.
- Sitting through Zoom meetings with no clear purpose.
- Responding instantly to every low-priority email or Slack notification.
- Spending excessive time researching prospects instead of reaching out.
- Engaging with unqualified prospects who will never buy.
Sales productivity increases when the emphasis is placed on outcomes, not inputs.
Unfortunately, outcome focused sales efforts are not showy, sexy, rarely involve cutting-edge technology and frankly are often humdrum and tedious (the opposite of exciting.) But they get the results.
Meanwhile, sales “rain dances” feel great in the moment. There’s always something to tweak, react to, applaud or track—giving you the illusion of productivity. But what good is busyness that does not impact sales results?
If you’re serious about improving sales outcomes, eliminate what’s getting in the way and commit to the non-glamorous work that moves the bottom-line.
