As you’ve noticed, since emailing is one of the main sales activities, many of the aforementioned sales tools pertain to it. Given that inbox management presents challenges for many individuals, especially salespeople who handle high volumes of emails, let’s explore this topic a little. Before we dive in, what works for me might not work for you.
Inbox Zero-ish
I prefer an uncluttered living and working space, so I strive to keep my inbox as uncluttered as possible. I’ve tested leaving emails in the inbox versus filing them away, and I find the latter works better for me. When I opt for the former, my inbox becomes overwhelming, and I’m more inclined to skip over some emails entirely if I’m overloaded.
You don’t have to set up an elaborate labeling system for this to be effective. Most inboxes have pretty good search functionality, and the mere act of filing emails away if they don’t require any action or if they’ve been acted upon is good enough. Out of sight, out of mind.
Snooze
If something requires my action, but there’s a good reason to delay responding, I’ll snooze the email so it’s removed from my inbox and only reappears when action is needed:
This can also be done with an external tool such as Boomerang.
2-minute rule
If something takes less than 2 minutes to resolve (not only for emails), I generally try to get it out of the way as soon as possible instead of deferring and letting these pile up. Putting off a reply because you’re lazy only wastes more time. You’ll end up needing to reread the email again in the future.
Batch instead of Compulsively Check
Compulsive checking is a huge time-suck. I try to limit inbox checking to no more than 2-3 times a day to ensure I can carve out time for focused work.
Research has consistently shown that multitasking is not as efficient as we often believe it to be. Batching or time blocking is also a great practice for any other task, as it reduces the time needed to shift gears and refocus when we switch between tasks.
Unsubscribe
I’m pretty unforgiving when it comes to unsubscribing from any email I don’t personally enjoy reading or don’t find much value in. If I don’t unsubscribe, I generally find myself wasting more time skimming over them, only to delete them right after.