Guard Your Golden Hours for Maximum Impact
I once watched a top software rep fumble through his day—jumping from report writing to lunch to LinkedIn—until it was 3 PM and he still hadn’t made a sales prospecting call. He was frantic and frustrated. That afternoon he shut off his notifications, reset his watch to alert him for a 90-minute block starting 8:30 the next morning, and dedicated it to calls—no distractions.
The next day, he made 60 calls before 10 AM. He was stunned at how much he could accomplish when he fully committed to his Golden Hours. Over the next month, his pipeline swelled, he hit quota early, and his confidence soared—because he’d cracked the code on protecting selling time.
Neuroscience confirms that willpower is a finite resource. When you protect your prime selling windows, you harness that peak energy and avoid decision fatigue. By scheduling admin work around these blocks, you preserve mental focus.
Watch your pipeline transform when you fiercely guard your Golden Hours. You’ll realize that doing less busy work is the secret to doing more deals.
Tomorrow, carve out your Golden Hours—two hours when you’re most alert—and treat them as a meeting you can’t miss. Before kickoff, turn off email and your phone, then dive into calls or face-to-face visits. After the block ends, switch to your Platinum Hour where you handle CRM, proposals, and research. Always say “no” to non-selling requests during selling time. It’s a simple shift that will revolutionize your daily productivity.
What You'll Achieve
Shift your mindset to fiercely protect selling time, resulting in a 50% increase in calls and appointments and less stress juggling tasks.
Master your prime selling time
Define your Golden Hours
Analyze your calendar and pinpoint the two hours when you’re most alert. Block these for live prospecting—phone calls and face-to-face meetings only.
Schedule Platinum Hours
Set one hour before and after your Golden Hours for nonsales work: CRM updates, research, proposals. Never let these tasks encroach on time reserved for selling.
Use Horstman’s Corollary
Limit any task to 30 minutes by timing yourself. You’ll force efficiency and squeeze more calls or demos into each block.
Say no strategically
When a manager or colleague asks for help during Golden Hours, respond, “I’d love to later—my prospecting block starts in 15 minutes, can we schedule for this afternoon?”
Reflection Questions
- What are your current biggest distractions during selling hours?
- How will you enforce boundaries when colleagues interrupt?
- How might your week change if you protected just two hours daily?
Personalization Tips
- A VR gamer reserves 9–11 AM for in-person meetings, then uses 11–12 for follow-up emails and demos.
- A university recruiter blocks Tuesdays and Thursdays 2–4 PM for phone outreach, and the rest of the week for career-fair prep.
- A life coach protects 8–9 AM for content creation and 9–11 AM for client calls, leaving admin tasks for late afternoon.
Fanatical Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling
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