Subscribe via LinkedIn Listen to this newsletter

Top sales leaders from across the country agree: your morning routine matters, a lot.

Which is why we’ve scoured the internet for advice from recognized sales leaders, like Andrew Thompson (Founder of Peak Performance), David Arkow (frm Director of Sales at Trustpilot), and Danielle Kunkle (Vice President Sales at Boomer Benefits) to learn how they short track their day for success.

Here’s what we learned

Successful morning routines start the day before
Consistency is more important than substance
Focus on top priorities first, everything else can wait
No sales leader starts their day responding to emails

Today, we’ll kick off the week by breaking down that first common denominator of a successful morning: getting a head start the previous day. The rest we’ll cover over the remainder of the week—let’s dive in.

Successful morning routines start the day before

Shawn Rhodes, Chief Sales Sergeant and Author of Bulletproof Selling, says:

The best performers actually start planning before leaving work the day prior. They check the tasks and calls they have lined up the next day, complete any research, and stage their notes. That way, they can sleep well and show up for work ready to go.

If there are any morning routines, they’re more for energy and mindset. Pulling together your plan at 8am means your competitors already have a head start on you.

We couldn’t agree more. If you’re familiar with Dale’s training on daily habits, a cornerstone of organizing your day for success is always having a prioritized list of tasks and activities (T&As for short) that are broken into two categories:

Must do's; and
Want to do’s

It’s important to write all of your T&As for the day down, categorize them into Must do’s and Want to do’s, and then prioritize both categories in order of importance.

Once you have your prioritized lists, turn your attention to the Must do’s and follow the expert advice Andrew Thompson of Peak Performance offers:

First, out of [your] to-do items, you must select three top three prioritized items that must be accomplished that day. This separate list is called you ‘success list’.

Second, from your ‘success list’, you select one item that is the most important overall. This item is called your ‘keystone’.

You begin your day with your ‘keystone’, then move to your “success list” and afterwards finish with your ‘to-do’ list.

Tips for implementing

Dedicate the last 5-15 minutes of your day to outlining your T&As (tasks and activities) for the following day
After writing out all of your T&As, categorize them into Must do’s and Want to do’s
Then prioritize your lists from most-important to least-important
Finally,. highlight your three (3) most important T&As to identify your "success list" then circle your most important T&A to identify your "keystone"

Building the habit of starting your day with a segmented, prioritized list of to-do’s might not sound like a game-changing strategy, but it’s a habit that every successful sales leader seems to share.