Selling Time

Most salespeople spend only 10 percent of their available time actually selling, according to a study made by Proudfoot Consulting, cited by Business Opportunities Weblog.

According to the study, sales representatives spend their time as follows:

  • Active selling – 10%
  • Prospecting – 10%
  • Problem Solving – 14%
  • Downtime (e.g., personal phone calls and e-mails) – 17%
  • Travel time – 18%
  • Administration – 31%

Also, the biggest barriers to sales people’s effectiveness were found to be:

  • Lack of manager feedback or help for sales teams
  • Poor sales call quality and inadequate monitoring
  • Weak or cumbersome sales reporting systems
  • Training that was seldom reinforced or properly coached in the field