National Sales Center

E-Mail Is Detracting From Selling Time

Sales People Must Manage Their E-Mails

Salespeople only have about ten hours a day to contact clients and prospects. We commonly refer to this time span as “selling time”. These are precious hours and how we use them dramatically affects our productivity. However, there is one culprit that is constantly taking more than its fair share of “selling time”, E-Mail.

Salespeople And E-Mails

We get E-Mail delivered to us on our PCs, Laptops and phones. There is no escaping it because it just hunts us down when we are at home, work and traveling. I’ve talked with too many salespeople that spend up to two hours a day sending and reading E-Mails. In terms of “selling time”, these salespeople are only working four days a week because of the time they spend with E-Mails. That’s no way to succeed in sales. How about some E Mail sales training!

Ways Salespeople Can Manage Their E-Mails

So, just how important are all these E-Mails? Salespeople tell me that about 50% of the E-Mails they receive are unnecessary. Those that spend two hours a day on E-Mail are spending one hour a day sending and receiving unnecessary E-Mails. Think how much more productive they would be if they spent an extra five hours a week contacting clients and prospects.

E-Mails Hurt Sales Productivity

Salespeople also tell me that about 75% of the E-Mails they receive are internal. In other words, there own company is robbing them of precious selling time. This is the same company that is telling these salespeople to work harder. This is beyond crazy. This is insanity. All these E-Mails hurt sales productivity. That’s why this topic should be included in professional sales training.

Control Of Sales Rep’s E-Mails

It’s time to take action and manage, if not control, E-Mail. E-Mail management is a new skill salespeople must develop if they expect to succeed in sales. The key to managing E-Mail is discipline. Let that “in box” overflow. After all, if something was so very important it demanded an immediate response, you’d probably be contacted by phone.

Stop Unnecessary Internal E-Mails

Internal unnecessary E-Mails will not put one penny in your pocket. Salespeople need to be “face to face” with prospects and clients because that’s how commissions are earned. I have to include this topic in my advanced sales training.

The available options are easy to understand. Either salespeople control their E-Mails or their E-Mails will control them. I recommend visiting E-Mail early in the morning and again late in the day. I also recommend never visiting E-Mail during precious “selling time”.

To your sales success!

Nick Moreno

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Tags: Advice for salespeople