Admin Hassles HURT Sales Effectiveness!

A study was brought to my attention today from the folks at Synygy -

Orlando, October 14, 2003 -
Today at the Synygy-sponsored Incentive Compensation Conference, Growth Solutions LLC and Synygy Inc. released the results of an on-going benchmark study that relates the work of sales managers to the performance of their sales teams. The survey clearly demonstrates the importance of "in-the-trenches" time for sales managers at all levels-spending just a few hours more per week on activities that directly affect sales can lead to a dramatic increase in sales growth.
"Time truly is a sales manager's most precious resource," said David Fritz, president of Growth Solutions, who spearheaded the research. "A company looking for greater performance from its sales force needs to reduce the administrative demands on its sales managers and provide them with better information and better training. The study shows that there is a need to invest in sales management, not just the sales reps."
In the study, those sales teams that reported sales increases of 10 percent or more had sales managers who spent at least 73 percent of their time in core sales management activities, while those sales teams with slowing or declining sales had sales managers who spent an average of 67 percent of their time in core activities.