How efficient is your sales team? Likely not enough.

Sellers want to spend time selling — that's no secret. However, studies show that they only spend a little over one-third of their time doing this. So, how do you improve these numbers, and what barriers prevent them from being more productive?

They are often burdened with admin tasks in the sales process — proposals, orders, billing, reporting, etc. It's imperative that sellers complete these tasks to fuel the sales process, but there are likely gaps in these workflows that slow everyone down.

An effective way to assess this is by asking them what's inefficient or standing in their way. You already know some of this, as sellers aren't shy about feedback. Once you hear from them, it's time to look at your technology and where it falls short. Even if you have solutions that work, they may still rob a seller's time because of the swivel chair effect. If they have to use multiple systems to create a proposal and order, that's draining their hourglass of time. Ideally, a cross-channel platform that includes linear and digital and provides automation from proposal to payment could give your team back hours every day. Think of what they could do with all that time!

If your system has consolidated reporting, they also won't have to spend time downloading data and creating a summary for advertisers on their campaign's performance. Your customers want to see this information, as it will inform on how they spend in the future. If it's easy-breezy to deliver, your sellers and customers will appreciate it.

While we all only have 24 hours in the day, we can always optimize our time. The challenges your salespeople face around efficiency and productivity could be quickly resolved with the right technology. Do your sales organization a favor by giving them a platform that's built for them and streamlines everything. Since time is money, you have the opportunity to make every minute more valuable.