
You want to get the best out of your sales people to achieving your challenging sales objectives.
Here is a proven 3 step-by-step sales force analysis process that will make you understand what your sales people do.
- Find Out Present Split up of Time
- Make a Sales Force Survey
- Summarize What Your Sales People DO
Step 1 Find Out Present Split up of Time
You need to know where you are today to be able to monitor improvements and take actions.
Unfortunately, your sales people do not spend 365 days per year out on the road visiting customers.
There are weekends, vacations, public holidays and other activities which leaves you with a certain number of “Working Days”, normally around 225.
Secondly, statistically sales people will spend a few days at home either sick themselves or look after their children.
Then sales person will spend time on training, internal meetings and other administrational work.
We define the number of days which left as
“Effective Sales Days”
Based on historical data, calendar and your plans for next year, try to split up the sales person’s overall time schedule.
See chart below
Effective Sales Days
Event | No of Days |
Working Days | 230 |
Training | 10 |
Internal Meetings | 20 |
Administration / Follow-up | 50 |
Effective Sales Days | 150 |
Step 2 Make a Sales Force Time Survey
During effective sales days, your sales people are supposed to sell your products and services.
The next step in the process is to try to identify how sales people utilise their effective sales days.
Select a few sales people which are representative for the whole group and let them during a week fill in the form
Sales Time Study
Time | Travel Time |
Waiting Time |
Sales Visit |
Break | Planning | Phone | Meeting | Other |
07:00 | x | |||||||
07:30 | x | |||||||
08:00 | x | |||||||
08:30 | x | |||||||
09:00 | x | |||||||
09:30 | x | |||||||
10:00 | x | |||||||
10:30 | x | |||||||
11:00 | x | |||||||
11:30 | x | |||||||
12:00 | x | |||||||
12:30 | x | |||||||
Time | Travel Time |
Waiting Time |
Sales Visit |
Break | Planning | Phone | Meeting | Other |
13:00 | x | |||||||
14:30 | x | |||||||
15:00 | x | |||||||
16:00 17:00 |
x |
Based on the results of the survey above, decide if you need a total overhaul of your sales system and/or you need to focus on specific areas.
Step 3 Summarize What Your Sales People Do
Make a summary chart for your sales peole and fill in the table below:
The results are quite astonishing. Sales people usually only spend a fraction of their total time selling.
You need to know these details, however, in order to make a fair point system later on, and to set new standards for performance.
July 2017 – Josef David www.rapidknowhow.com
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