Towers Watson & Co : High Performing Sales Managers Spend More Time on Sales, Less Time on Administrative Activities, Towers Watson Research Finds

How Sales Managers Allocate Selling Time Also Impacts their Effectiveness

Corporate America's highest-performing sales managers spend more time on selling activities compared with their lower-performing colleagues. However, a new survey by global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) suggests the difference between successful and unsuccessful sales manager is more a function of how they allocate their selling time among various activities and audiences. Additionally, high-performing sales managers tend to devote less time to administrative activities and avoid non-sales activities.

"At a time when most U.S. companies are focusing on strategies and tactics to drive revenue and profitable growth, having strong, effective sales managers who can lead a sales force is critical," said Joe Clarkson, North America Practice Leader, Sales Effectiveness and Rewards at Towers Watson. "Our research shows there are important differences in how high-performing sales managers spend their time compared to other managers that organizations can learn from to improve their sales manager effectiveness."

According to the survey of 1,500 sales managers and professionals at U.S. companies, high-performing sales managers spend 14% more time - 100 extra hours - per year on selling activities compared with low-performing sales managers. Conversely, they spend 6% less time (39 hours) on management activities and 11% less time (61 hours) on non-selling related activities. High-performing sales managers also allocate more of their selling time on activities such as closing sales and servicing accounts compared to other sales managers.

A more significant difference between successful sales managers and their colleagues is a function of with whom they spend their time. According to the survey, the bulk of successful managers' sales time is spent with current customers, either selling new applications or solutions, or personally managing renewals, or with new, nonqualified business leads. On average, successful sales managers spend 104 extra hours each year with these contacts, compared to other sales managers.

The survey also found that high-performing sales managers are almost three times more likely to spread their attention evenly across members of their sales team rather than devoting most of their time to a select few team members.

"This does not mean that sales managers spend their time with each team member similarly. Instead, managers will spend time with lower-performing sales reps to provide extra coaching and guidance, while spending more time with better-performing members on other activities such as co-selling or performance reinforcement," said Craig Ulrich, Towers Watson's U. S. East Division Leader, Sales Effectiveness and Rewards Practice.

Sales professionals were also asked to provide insight into characteristics that make sales managers effective. About one half (51%) who interact with their manager several times a day reported that their manager is effective compared to only 24% who interact with their manager once a day. Additionally, more than three in four sales professionals who believe their immediate manager acts with honesty and fairness, and provides clear work goals for the team, said their manager is effective.

"Ultimately, sales managers succeed because they are leaders. The best-performing managers are externally focused rather than internally focused. They tend to look at the big picture and think strategically, rather than focus on the short term. At the same time, they can essentially make or break the sales force because they are the intermediaries between an organization's senior leadership and frontline salespeople who interact with customers and prospects on a daily basis. Their impact cannot be overestimated," concluded Ulrich.

More information about the Towers Watson survey, "Leverage Sales Managers to Create Superior Performance," is available at http://www.towerswatson.com/research/5832

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at towerswatson.com.

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