Salespeople face all sorts of distractions. Factors ranging from internal corporate demands to ramifications from a reeling economy and shifting competitive landscape all take a toll on their customer-facing time. So how do you keep them focused on their primary task at hand?

1. CRITICAL PATHWAYS
by Jeanne Buchanan
Keeping the Focus on Selling
Top 10 Time Sinks for Salespeople Salespeople face all sorts of distractions. Factors ranging from internal corporate demands
These sap time, energy and limit high-value to ramifications from a reeling economy and shifting competitive landscape all take a toll on
interactions with customers. their customer-facing time. So how do you keep them focused on their primary task at hand?
1. Estimating/proposals
Too often “time sinks” require a disproportionate amount of salespeople and sales managers’ time compared to the value
2. Contract management delivered to their customers for those activities. In a recent sales productivity study we conducted for one of our clients,
3. Installation coordination we learned that while their sales reps spend more time on selling activities compared to the external benchmark, they
spend a small amount of time actually meeting with customers. Significant national account time was also being spent in
4. Pricing/billing
post-sales activities that were time sinks. For example, their star salespeople were spending twice the amount of time
5. Scheduling
constructing estimates as they were meeting with customers. Issue resolution required almost a day a week.
6. Service delivery
7. Issue/problem resolution In the same previously mentioned sales productivity study, we learned that star and on-quota sales leaders spend more
time managing their teams, including one-on-one coaching. The best understand the systems and processes that their
8. Internal and customer
teams are using—both those that make them successful and those that impede their productivity.
communication
9. Internal processes/systems
10. Daily “emergencies”
A CPS sales resource article. © by Critical Path Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. CRITICAL PATHWAYS
Maximize selling time. How much time are your salespeople spending doing paperwork or following up to see that orders are processed and deliv-
ered? Can you remove those tasks from their to-do list if you improve your processes? Functional reassignments or outside
resources can provide many of these support functions as long as your salespeople remain in the loop. In general, be at-
tuned to removing obstacles to their selling success.
Keep them focused on the prize. One of the most powerful ways to keep momentum in the sales organization and drive consistent results is to establish a
pattern of accountability through regular reviews. Visit account strategies and action plans once a quarter with your sales-
people. Clearly framing your expectations and identifying milestones and planned near-term actions for the next 90 days
keeps their focus on activities that lead to accomplishments versus things that are urgent. A 15-minute review of each plan
keeps them moving forward with consistent targeted actions, resulting in a tight cycle of value with key customers.
Coach around sales calls. A well-written call plan and strategy for each call is a best practice. Coach your salespeople to cut through the clutter and be
heard by articulating value that is personal, relevant, and time-sensitive. Spending five minutes to develop a thoughtful call
plan brings more value to their customers, improves their odds of getting back in front of the decision makers, and ensures
that they are efficient and effective each time they meet.
Make sales calls with your folks. There is no better way for you to learn about your salespeople’s sales challenges and performance than by seeing them in
front of their customers. And by watching what happens in between sales calls, you’ll gain a fairly accurate picture of where
they need time and territory management improvement. Spending time in the field allows you to observe, analyze, and coach
your salespeople, a highly productive use of time for all of you. Some studies suggest that on-site coaching can increase
performance by as much as 20 percent.
A CPS sales resource article. © by Critical Path Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3. CRITICAL PATHWAYS
Provide just-in-time market-ready Customer-facing time is valuable. But too often, salespeople don’t formulate how they want to talk to a customer or what
plays with sales playbooks. message they want to convey until they’re standing in front of the customer. Sales playbooks capture and document what
your best salespeople do to qualify, advance, and win deals. Brief and easy-to-reference, they deliver sales stage-
appropriate content to your salespeople within the context of their current deal.
Provide a consistent rhythm for Footprints (brief weekly activity reports) and as-needed, agenda-driven conference calls or meetings keep your sales teams
sales process. accountable and give you an opportunity to shine the spotlight on their successes. Crisp, tight pipeline and forecast reviews
define expectations and reveal a lot about your salespeople’s abilities and how they spend their time and effort.
Improving sales productivity is a common goal among sales organizations seeking ways to improve the top line of their business. As a sales leader, you must identify key
factors to improve selling time—specifically customer-facing time—and generate better results from the selling time spent.
ABOUT CPS. Critical Path Strategies helps clients improve the effectiveness of their sales organization. Our portfolio of services addresses the strategic, organizational, and relationship issues that impact selling per-
formance. Our powerful processes enable clients to transform their sales culture, enhance their competitive position, and accomplish strategic business initiatives. Our clients—emerging companies and members of the
Fortune 500 alike—typically measure 100 to 500 times their CPS investment in revenue growth.
A CPS sales resource article. © by Critical Path Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.criticalpathstrategies.com  LinkedIn Group: The Best Best Practices in Sales Effectiveness