Working from home – thoughts for sales professionals

Here’s some tips for ensuring that you get the best out of working from home as a sales professional.

Plan your sales day to include researching and preparing for both today and tomorrow. Ensure that you have a specific number of qualified sales leads ready to call from first thing each morning. Here’s a 10-point list of criteria for qualifying sales leads:

• Are they relevant to your portfolio or industry, does your portfolio match, does their target customer match our audience?
• Are they spending with your competitors? Who?
• Are they like your existing clients: are their competitors spending with you?
• What size of company are they, are they UK-based or global, what is their DMU?
• What is their advertising budget/marketing spend, what percentage of turnover is it?
• What other marketing channels do they employ?
• What is their reputation, credibility and company image/perception in the marketplace – do you want to work with them?
• What is the life cycle of their product/service? Are they launching new products/services?
• Do they have partner companies? Are we already working with them? If not, who is?
• Why should they spend with you? What’s in it for them?

Set precise objectives for each day and monitor on a weekly basis. Prepare next week’s schedule of sales activity on the previous Friday. Catch up with your sales manager at 08.45 each day to outline activities and expected results and again at 17.15 to review outcomes.

Throughout the sales day use the 45-minute call-block system to manage telephone sales calls and ensure energy and momentum go into the next call. For example, 09.00 – 09.45, 10.00 – 10.45 and so on across the day. 7 call blocks a day would provide 5 hours of prospect contact time.

Replace a call block with other activity where necessary, for example writing sales proposals. Use the probability forecast of 25/75 when assessing likelihood of business closing – 75% chance of success means the bespoke sales proposal is out and a follow-up call has been arranged – everything else is 25%

The aim is to deliver sales activity in a disciplined and structured way across the sales day.

Which will also motivate you and create an environment for you to perform at your best.

For more information on working from home or if you have any questions about anything in this article then please email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Many thanks, Paul

Paul Streeter-Jewitt MCIPD