Salespeople should not be going back to the office!

Boston to PortsmouthI live on the NH beach and frequently commute to Boston.  Those days that I'm teaching, I leave at 5:00 AM to arrive at 7:00 and schedule student meetings before my afternoon marketing and sales classes.  In my consulting work, if the client says, "I want to meet in the office", I'm in the car driving around NE or on Amtrak to NYC.  Yesterday's commute to Boston, however, clearly defined why salespeople should not be going back to any city-based office just because some out-of-touch supervisor states that they want everyone sitting at their desks.   Notice above my use of the phrase "city-based office".  

  • First, Boston is ranked as the 4th worst traffic city in the world, so it's always wicked
  • Yesterday, 59 miles, no accidents, perfect weather, 3 hours
  • The meeting, which was more of a feel-good, comfort meeting was 90 minutes
  •  Reverse commute was only 2 hours
  • 5 hours of travel; $45 parking, no new revenue

 

Workforce stats, reported last week in the WSJ:

  • About 58% of companies allow employees to work a portion of their week from home
  • The number of companies requiring office full time declined this year from 49% to 42%
  • Employees with hybrid strategies work on average 2.5 days in the office 

But those numbers are for all employees, not for salespeople.  For me, it makes zero sense to force salespeople, either in the field or on the phones, back into an artificial office environment, if in fact, it requires more than an hour of commuting.  Just a total waste of time, and, no, there is no justifying the commute by thinking that sales calls can be made from the car.  Quick catch-up calls are a given and fine for random touch base calls, but not for Discovery calls, demos or negotiations, which is where the real science of sales is applied. 

A salesperson's only currency is their time 

image-png-Aug-13-2021-10-52-46-03-AMLet's first make the assumption that all good salespeople view their job as professional, they work very hard at what they do, they're skilled and very focused since their work is directly linked to their income, promotions, and self-satisfaction as a member of the team.  The simple math:

-We lose 25% of available time just because 
-Our job is to make the 75% very efficient
-Answer is in process, technology and training
-...and not imposing meaningless rules 

 

HAVE A GREAT DAY SELLING TODAY!

 

2023 SALES PLANNING 

Planning 2023-1Check out our updated sales productivity site page.  Just page down to get our new edition of Writing the Winning Sales Plan for 2023.  Or you can just email me, and I will send you a free copy.  Connect with me at any time for some quick ideas and feedback. There's never a cost for a call or two, plus I love listening and talking about Sales & Marketing.   

www.derbymanagement.com  
Derby Entrepreneurship Center@Tufts.

 

 

Tags: Sales Leadership in the Revolution, Derby Entrepreneurship Center@Tufts, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts, 2023 Business Planning, 2023 Sales Planning, 2023 Marketing Plans