Being an outside sales representative is no easy task. It’s always a tricky balance of driving all over town and making sure you’re managing every customer visit well while still ensuring that you’re hitting your targets. Throw in inevitable fires only you can put out and things can quickly get out of hand.
But the age-old adage “a failure to plan is a plan for failure” continues to ring true.
Creating a game plan for your sales days will not only help you make the most of each customer visit, it also gives you the confidence to adjust to anything the day throws your way. And optimizing your schedule can significantly boost your productivity. This can easily add 2 extra sales visits to your day.
What’s 2 extra visits worth? See how your numbers grow with our field sales calculator.
Here’s your game plan to add 2 sales visits to your days and make every customer visit count.
Planning is the cornerstone of an effective strategy. Before you close your laptop for the day, take some time to plan your activities for tomorrow. This step ensures you start the day with a clear focus and purpose.
This can be done with 4 easy steps:
Route optimization is crucial for field sales reps who want to maximize their time in front of customers. By strategically planning your visits, you can minimize travel time and maximize face-to-face time. This can shave important minutes and hours off your day in the field, opening up time for you to visit additional customers without any other planning.
Free tools like Google Maps or Waze offer varying levels of support for multi-stop routes, but nothing beats a legitimate sales route planning app. Investing in a cost-effective tool (RepMove starts at $19.99 per month) that automatically reorganizes your route for the most efficient path can easily trim 20-30% or more of your mileage, by itself giving you at least one extra daily visit. That’s at least 20 extra visits each month. You can easily convert one of those extra customer visits into a sale, having the tool pay for itself and then some.
Grouping your sales meetings geographically can significantly cut down on travel time. This strategy, known as clustering, involves scheduling appointments in the same area back-to-back. A good field sales app will easily help you visualize your customers on a map so you can plan accordingly. This reduces travel time, increases efficiency, eliminates potential distractions between meetings, and makes follow-up easier so you can visit nearby prospects or customers without going out of your way.
You don’t have to take this one literally, but it’s good to keep timeliness in mind. Time management is crucial in field sales. While it’s essential to build relationships with your clients, it’s also important to keep your meetings concise and productive. Setting a time limit for each visit ensures you stay on track and on schedule.
Technology can be a game-changer for field sales reps. From CRM systems to route planning apps, various tools can help you manage your time more effectively and increase your productivity.
A few key categories of technology to keep in mind:
RepMove combines the key features of each technology into one easy-to-use app without unnecessary complexity. Get a no-nonsense demo today.
While it’s important to maximize your time with clients, it’s also crucial to schedule buffer time between appointments. This buffer time can account for unexpected delays, such as traffic or extended meetings. It also helps you manage time around unexpected issues that arise.
Effectively manage buffer time with these tips:
It’s unfortunate but true. Not all clients are created equal. While you should always strive to provide the best service possible to every customer or client, sometimes we are forced to prioritize. Some customers will have a more significant impact on your sales figures than others. Your boss or company owner might value a specific relationship more than would seem appropriate.
Whatever the reason, you’re your highest-profile clients and make sure to build your schedule around them when necessary. It’s always important to ensure you’re focusing your time and energy where it matters most.
Here are a few strategies to keep in mind:
In field sales, there will inevitably be periods of downtime, such as waiting for a meeting to start or traveling between appointments. Meetings get canceled. Things happen. Use this time productively to identify customers or prospects near you that you can meet, prepare for your next customer visit, or update your sales systems with the most recent deal activity. Sitting around drinking a latte while watching videos will literally cost you money.
While we all want to relax as soon as we return home, it’s usually better to finish any outstanding tasks when they are top of mind. Check your reminders for follow-up items. Review your notes in case you overlooked a key detail. Create the call report now when everything is fresh.
This is an ideal time to plan your next day. See what meetings you have the next day and what timeslots you have available. Then plot out which customers are on your route and call them to query availability. You’ll not only be able to better relax having finished all of your duties for the day, but you’ll thank yourself tomorrow when you have an inbox with multiple new meetings lined up and more deals in your pipeline.
At the end of each day, take some time to review your activities and reflect on what went well and what could be improved. This reflection helps you identify areas for improvement and ensures continuous growth and development.
Maximizing your daily schedule and fitting in 2 extra sales visits every day is entirely possible with the right strategies and tools. By following this playbook, you can significantly boost your productivity and hit higher numbers.
Remember, the key to success in field sales is not just working harder but working smarter. Implement these strategies and watch your customer visits – and your results – soar.
RepMove is designed to make your time in the field easier and more productive. Sign up for a free trial or get a demo today.
