Do you know how much time your sales force actually spends selling? Statistics show that on average it is only 30% of their working time.
40% of their time is taken up with administrative tasks such as completing reports, sorting out account disputes, and dealing with delivery problems.
A lot of time can be saved here by standardising reports and having administrative support personnel type and circulate them. Solving customers' problems can be reassigned to other departments such as customer service or credit management.
The other 30% of a salesperson's time is typically taken up with travelling from one account to the next. Although this time expenditure is unavoidable, it can be made more productive by providing salespeople with essential portable office equipment.
Developments in information and communications technology, especially in corporate intranet technology, mean that it is now possible to work just as efficiently from a remote location as it is in the office. Sales staff should also be encouraged to use otherwise unproductive time to complete administrative tasks such as record keeping, database updates, etc.
The more time your sales staff spend on actually selling, the higher your profits will be.