Channel managers are hyper-busy with quotes, calls, customer support, emergencies, et al. They can stay busy. But are they working toward their goals or just taking care of the urgent? Are they smart about how they handle the urgent?

Channel managers are the brand ambassadors, the educators, and the conduit to the provider for the channel partners. Channel managers like to go on ride-alongs to help the partners close business for the provider. That type of juggling requires impressive time management. In our age of notifications, tweets, updates, webinars, blah, blah, blah, the noise level is so high about the urgent that the important sometimes gets lost.

Tom Peters emphasizes in his Brand You video that “You are your calendar.” Your calendar showcases your priorities. In a busy environment, if the task or goal are not a reminder or an appointment – if time is not blocked out – it is likely it will not get done.

Three big tips I received when coaching with Keith Rosen. One tip is do not schedule best effort. Be realistic that a task is not going to take five minutes. (How often do they really only take five minutes?) The second one is to add an hour of buffer time into your afternoon so that all those fires you were working on that shifted your entire calendar have a place to be absorbed in your calendar. The final tip is that if a task is on your window for 6 weeks, ask yourself if it is a priority or can be outsourced or can be forgotten. Saying no is a good thing. To make room for new stuff, you have to say no to some old stuff.

Developing good habits takes conscious effort for six weeks. Sales happen after more than four contacts. People have to be persistent to be successful. There are many time trackers on the market that will track what you spend time on, including browser activity. Start there or start employing one of the tips. I will end with another Tom Peters quote, “Excellence is in the next five minutes.”

Peter Radizeski is president of telecom consulting firm RAD-INFO Inc. and has a new book on channel management available on Amazon.