Your VP asks how much of a rep’s week goes to selling. You’ve probably seen a few different percentages, and they don’t agree. Which one goes on the slide?
None of them, if you can help it. The sales rep time spent selling number that holds up in a review is the one you measured on your own team, with the date and the sample written down. This post shows you how to get it in one week, with a sheet of paper.
Why a borrowed number won’t hold up in your review
A survey number tells you about the people that survey asked. That’s rarely your reps. Before you put any stat on a slide, give it 30 seconds:
- Open the page the stat links to, not the blog that repeats it.
- Find the figure on that page. If it isn’t there, stop.
- Check the year and the sample size.
- Check who was asked. Sellers in general aren’t the same as your outside reps.
If a number fails step two, leave it off the slide. And even a number that passes all four still describes someone else’s week. Your VP is asking about yours.
Where a field rep’s week goes
We didn’t find a primary, field-specific split of an outside rep’s week, so we won’t invent one. In the field, the time goes to a few places:
- Windshield time between stops.
- Waiting at a counter or a gate for the person you came to see.
- Notes and updates, often written at night, after the day is already over.
- Internal meetings and questions from the office.
How big each piece is depends on your territory. A rep who works one metro area has a very different week from one who covers a multi-state territory. That’s why your own number beats any average.
Measure your team’s selling time in one week
You don’t need new software for this. You need a sheet of paper and five minutes at the end of each day.
Ask your reps to try it, and keep it voluntary. Each rep tallies their own day, and you only add up the totals. No names, no scoring. Reps share more when the tally is theirs.
| Category | Minutes per day |
|---|---|
| In front of customers | |
| Driving between stops | |
| Waiting | |
| Notes and updates | |
| Internal meetings | |
| Other |
Get your number. At the end of the week, add up every rep’s minutes in front of customers. Divide that by the total minutes in all six rows. That’s your team’s share of the week spent selling, and it’s the number for the slide.
Find what to cut. Look at the biggest block that isn’t customer time. If it’s notes and updates, start there. It’s the one most reps can shrink without driving less or seeing fewer customers.
Write down the date and how many reps took part. Next quarter, run it again. Now you have your own trend, and you can say exactly how you got it.
Take your number into the review
When your VP asks again, answer with three things: the share of the week your team spent in front of customers, the week you measured it, and how many reps tallied. You can back that up, because you can show the sheets.
Then bring one change, not five. Pick the biggest block that isn’t customer time, say what your team will try, and name the week you’ll run the tally again to check it. That gives your VP a plan to approve and a date to look at the result.
Three ways to give reps their time back
- Write the note at the stop, not at night. The details are fresh, and the evening is the rep’s again.
- Batch internal updates. One weekly check-in beats five pings a day.
- Type it once. If a rep re-enters the same visit in two places, pick the one place your team actually reads.
The first one is where Voze helps. A rep speaks the visit at the stop, so it’s written up before the next one. And the manager’s view of the whole territory comes along as a byproduct.
FAQ
What percent of time do salespeople spend selling?
It depends on the team, and any published figure covers the people that survey asked, not your reps. The number you can defend is your own: total minutes in front of customers divided by total working minutes, tallied by your reps for one week.
Do outside reps spend less time selling?
We didn’t find a primary, field-specific figure, so we can’t give you one. Driving and waiting are real costs for outside reps. The tally above shows you what they cost on your team.
How do I find where my reps’ time goes?
Have each rep tally minutes per day in six categories for one week, then add up the totals without names. The biggest block that isn’t customer time is where to start.
Want to see what it looks like when the write-up is done before the next stop? See how a rep captures a visit at the stop. Or keep reading on the Voze blog.