Time Management for Salespeople: It’s a Daily Battle!

by Dave Kahle

Remember the television commercial of the salesperson driving down the expressway with a cell phone balanced on his shoulder, a cup of coffee in one hand, and a laptop computer teetering on the dashboard? The voice in the background says, “You know he’s out there.”

          That’s a frightening commercial because of the element of truth in it. The life of a salesperson these days is a battle with an overwhelming number of things to do, ever-rising expectations, and conflicting pressures.

Changes and Pressure

While this has always been the case for field salespeople, in recent years the pressures have increased dramatically on every aspect of the salesperson’s job. Customers are more sophisticated, more demanding, and harder to see. Communication technology has compounded the difficulty of the salesperson’s job, making it necessary to be constantly on the phone either talking or texting. Whereas a few years ago a salesperson could visit a customer without an appointment, getting that appointment today adds multiple phone calls to the salesperson’s job. Each phone call, text, or email is one more task and one more small investment of time in an already full day.

          The products and services offered by many salespeople have expanded in quantity and sophistication. As companies strive to meet the fracturing demands of their customers, the number of items sold has increased proportionately. I just finished a phone call with a sales manager who described a typical situation.

          His company, previously a software publisher with one basic product, had recently purchased a competitor. The combined sales force now has 11 products to sell. Every time a new product or service is introduced, it must be learned, the information must be filed, the presentation organized, etc. All these things take time out of the salesperson’s day. A salesperson with 10 things to sell must spend much more time dealing with information and organization than one with half as many offerings.

          So, not only are customers’ demands and the increasing number of products and services adding more pressure to the salesperson but also the companies for whom they work are chipping in with additional demands. Salespeople are being asked to collect more information about their customers, report in more sophisticated ways, use more complex computer programs, and take part in more meetings than ever before.

Field Salespeople

The concept of the field salesperson as part of a “team” is growing more common. All that communication with team members adds more tasks to the salesperson’s already long list. Each new task is an additional demand on his time.

          No wonder typical field salespeople feel like the weight of the world is pressing down on them. Their jobs have become overwhelming. Field salespeople are working more hours and as a result, feeling more stressed. Personal relationships fracture as spouses, children, and significant others are neglected. Production suffers as salespeople are confronted with too much to do and not enough time in which to do it.

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          At the same time, traditional time management guidelines have little application for the field salesperson. Years ago, I watched a time management guru present a two-day seminar at an annual sales meeting for the company for whom I worked. This university professor conveyed principle after principle of time management—all very appropriate if you worked in an office all day long, but very inappropriate if you were a field salesperson. The audience of field salespeople became more and more frustrated as the seminar progressed. Finally, one of my colleagues stood up and said, “You don’t understand. We don’t get interruptions; we are the interrupters!”

          Clearly, most of the time management principles and tactics presented by this and other gurus totally miss the unique challenges of the field salesperson.

          All of this may be moot if it doesn’t impact you. So, before you read any further, reflect on whether you personally feel the weight of any of these pressures.

Complete the assessment below:

1. Has the quantity of the products or services you sell increased in the last few years?
2. Have those products or services become more complex and sophisticated?
3. Are your customers more difficult to see today than they were three years ago?
4. Do your customers expect you to set appointments rather than just stop in?
5. Are customers more pressed for time when you see them?
6. Does your company require you to collect more information today than it did a few years ago?
7. Are you expected to complete more forms and attend more meetings, either in person or electronically, than previously?
8. Are you expected to work more closely with others in your organization, perhaps even be part of a team?
9. Do you find yourself working longer and harder than you did a few years ago?
10. Are your personal relationships... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE