To sales professionals, time has never been more precious.
The challenging economy is forcingsalespeople to do more—to spend more time on the road, uncover more opportunities, and follow up on more prospects. Many of them are working in departments that have been cut back; their reward for having survived may include expanded territories, more accounts, and higher quotas.
This is forcing salespeople to be more resourceful and creative in how they generate leads, pique the interest of prospects, and close deals. Yet most research suggests that salespeople, on average, spend less than 25 percent of their time on direct selling activities and only about 3 percent of their time selling their companies' newest products. The rest of their day is spent on administrative duties such as staff meetings, and on enabling activities such as travel and training.
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