I’ve missed the last two weeks of my newsletter because life got in the way. My brother was in a very serious condition in hospital, and I didn’t have the cognitive capacity to write my newsletter.

I could have made the time, but I just didn’t feel up to it. Fortunately, he is now much better, and I’m ready to get back on with my newsletter schedule.

The process is also well systemised, and I have only left it for two weeks, so getting it back on track isn’t difficult. However, it’s reminded me of one of the most challenging areas when running a solo or boutique consultancy - keeping sales up when things get busy.

Why sales is difficult when you’re busy

When you’re busy with client work, the thought of doing sales gives a slight feeling of dread. It’s not that you’re bad at sales; it’s more that the thought of doing it while you’re busy delivering doesn’t feel right.

And you probably won’t be good at it in that moment, because you’re not in the right frame of mind.

It’s down to something called context switching.

When you are in delivery mode, you are using different energy than when you’re in sales mode, and switching between the two takes effort.

Different types of sales take different energy

Imagine you’re in the middle of delivering for a client when they mention they have a contact who also needs your services. They make the introduction, and you arrange a meeting. You’d probably have no problem making time for the meeting and selling to them when you’re in the middle of delivering for your client.

That’s because you’re going straight into a consultative sale with someone who needs your service. And that’s a very similar energy to delivery work.

Now imagine that you need to reach out to thirty new prospects who’ve never heard of you before to arrange an initial meeting. You’d likely find it difficult to make the time for it and even more difficult to get the job done, because it’s using a different energy to your delivery work.

If you want a reliable flow of sales, you have to make time for more of the second type of activity and energy.

How you make time for it

Systemisation lies at the heart of the solution. Just like with my newsletter, getting back into it was much easier because I have it systemised. I don’t need to think about it too much, and that massively reduces the cognitive load of getting it done.

I know when I need to send it, and I understand all the steps to get it done. I have a time when I write it, and even if I leave it to the last minute, I know what it takes to get it published.

It’s the same principle with your sales. The more you systemise it, the easier it gets.

You know what it takes to win a new customer. You understand the time it takes, the steps you need to go through, and what you need to do at each step. If the system stops, you know what’s needed to get it started again, and as long as you don’t leave it too long, restarting is relatively straightforward.

If you want to go deeper into how to systemise your sales, I’ve covered it in a lot more detail in my Ready to Buy playbook.

The important point for this newsletter is that systemising sales means you get to know the energy it needs from you to keep it going. When you understand the energy it requires, you can better manage it.

That’s what I’d like to leave you with today. Take a step back and look at your sales and client delivery through the lens of your energy. What do each of those systems need from you?