PERSON to PERSON
The case for spending more time in front of customers
HENRY CANADAY
How much time should a salesperson – whether a rep or senior sales executive – spend on the road? According to one sales force training and consulting guru, “You should turn the question around. It’s not, ‘How much time do I spend on the road?’ It should be, ‘How little time can I spend in the office?’ I find salespeople spend far too much time in the office.” Offices have what this guru calls sticky carpets. “You go in and you can’t get out until 10 a.m. or noon. You have to shake yourself loose from the glue that holds you there.” There are always excuses for hanging around. “If the weather is lousy, you won’t go out. If you start a proposal or a quote, you will find a reason to be there until 11:45, so you sit until lunch hour. Later, who wants to sell at 3 p.m.?”
RULES OF THE ROAD His rule of the road number one: “Do not go into the of- fice first thing in the morning. Go in late in the day, if you must. Your first trip of the day should be to a customer.” And customers open for business early. “You have to be there at the customer’s site by 8:30, not into your car by 8:30,” he says. “And don’t take lunch unless you are with the client.” Doesn’t this make for a long day? “You must put in the extra hours. Selling is not a 9-to-5 job.” Road rules two and three are for sales managers. “Man- agers should give their reps excuses to stay out of the office,” the guru advises. “Give them two orders: Get out and stay out.” Managers also must be tough on their own bad habits. “We managers like to be seen as busy. Some-
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