Did you know...

In 2006, average Engaged Selling Time for a sales force in the US (per our data base of over 100 companies across multiple industries) was 19.2%. That meant that, out of all their time on the job, sellers spent 19.2% of it doing account development work (research, planning, account team meetings) or meeting with customers (either in person or on the phone). In 2007, engaged selling time increased to 20.5%. In 2008, it increased again to 21.6%. 

At the same time, the average sales force saw a decrease in the amount of time devoted to Customer Service. In 2006, Customer Service comprised 9.9% of the average seller’s time. In 2007, this decreased to 9.0%. In 2008, it fell still further to 8.0%. 

What to make of this? A few observations come to mind:

1.	The fact that hundreds of sales executives now track how their sales forces spend time means they attach great value to understanding how much time sellers actually devote to selling.
2.	What gets measured gets managed. You can only increase valuable selling time if you establish a base line against which to make comparisons. Time measurement is having an impact.
3.	That impact is felt in more than increasing levels of sales time. Over that same period, the average sales force also increased sales results by 11% and sales productivity by10%.

Driving for increased sales time sparks productivity. Companies find ways to off load customer service tasks to cheaper resources and get sellers selling. Sales operations teams give sellers better insight into which accounts to call on with new found sales time.  And more productive sellers lift the results of the company at minimum incremental cost. 

Want to get your sales team more productive? Start by getting a baseline on engaged sales time. 

Click here to learn more about benchmarking.