Are you managing a field team and struggling to figure out the best way to schedule their work? If so, you’re not alone.
Many managers struggle with this same issue. However, there are some tips and tricks you can use to make the scheduling process a lot easier. In this article, we’ll share with you some of the best ways to schedule work for your field team.
Our sales managers shared their insights on how to create an organized, efficient schedule that enables reps to maximize their time in the field and boost their success.
- Sudipta Mukherjee, Senior Vice President – Sales & Business Development, Sales
- Vineet Kumar Tiwari, Assistant Vice President, Sales (India)
- Murali Krishna, Vice President – Sales, Sales (India)
By following these tips, you’ll be able to create a work schedule for your field team that will help them be more productive and efficient.
What does a good work schedule look like?
A perfect work schedule is important because it can help increase productivity, create a sense of balance and structure, reduce stress, and ensure that tasks are completed in a timely manner. It also allows us to set boundaries, which can help employees feel more in control of their workload.
Sudipta Mukherjee, Senior Vice President – Sales & Business Development, Sales
But if you see, the work schedule is just the starting point. You’ll need to quantify the tasks within the schedule. It will help you measure the outcomes and modify schedules as and when required.
- Task completion: Ensure that tasks are completed on time and in accordance with the company’s standards.
- Follow-up meetings: Keep track of all follow-up meetings with customers to ensure that all needs and objectives are being met.
- Login activities: Log in regularly to the various systems and databases that are used to track sales activities.
- Taking notes from meetings: Document the key points discussed at all meetings and ensure that they are recorded in the system.
- Creating, moving, and closing sales activities: Coordinate with customers to create, move, and close sales activities.
- Pipeline management: Manage the sales pipeline and monitor progress.
- Reports: Generate reports that include sales activity and opportunities.
Creating a work schedule that is tailored to your needs can help you to accomplish more than you think. Now, let’s learn more about how you can apply these concepts to your daily life.
How to communicate work assignments with field sales reps
Managers can communicate work assignments to their field team in a variety of ways, depending on the need. Some options include using email, text messages, phone calls, video conferencing, in-person meetings, and even using project management software. By using a combination of these methods, managers can ensure their field team is up to date and informed of all work assignments.
Technology makes it easier for managers to streamline their scheduling process in several ways.
- Utilize a secure messaging platform such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Riot to communicate with your field sales team. This will ensure that all messages exchanged are secure and private.
- Conduct regular meetings with your field sales team. This will ensure that all issues and questions are addressed in a timely manner and that everyone is on the same page.
- Establish a system of accountability with your field team members. This could include status reports, daily check-ins, and performance reviews. This will ensure that everyone is held accountable for their work and will help to keep communication open and honest.
- You can also use video conferencing technology such as Skype, Zoom, or Google Meet to meet your team. Face-to-face communication helps build trust and strengthen relationships with your team members.
While the above tools may work just fine for small teams, managing communication and keeping track of assigned tasks with large teams can become cumbersome.
Software solutions like LeadSquared CRM allow managers to quickly and easily create and share work for their field team. This eliminates the need for manual scheduling, decreasing the amount of time it takes to schedule work. The software also supports mobile apps for field teams. It helps reps easily access their assigned tasks, lead details, and other information. Plus, they can create accounts and add meeting notes within those accounts.
Refrain from taking on all the tasks and share responsibilities
As a team lead or manager, it is important to share the workload with your team members. There are various ways in which team leads or managers can effectively share the workload with their field sales team reps.
- Set realistic expectations make sure that all team members understand the tasks that need to be completed and the timeline for completion. Be clear about what each team member is responsible for and what the expected outcome is.
- Establish a system of accountability to help ensure that tasks are being completed in a timely manner. This could include weekly check-ins, reporting, or tracking systems.
- Make sure that team members have access to the resources they need to complete their tasks. This could include training, technology, or other resources.
- Regularly provide feedback to team members to ensure that they are on the right track. This could include praising successes and offering constructive criticism when needed.
- Encourage team members to work together to complete tasks. This could include holding team brainstorming sessions or assigning tasks to multiple team members.
- Encourage team members to take ownership of their tasks. This could include giving them the opportunity to come up with creative solutions or allowing them to make decisions that affect their work.
Know your team members and their abilities
It is important for a manager to know their team members when scheduling or assigning work because it allows them to make the best decisions for their team.
Knowing the capabilities and strengths of each team member allows managers to pair the right people with the right tasks, which helps to maximize efficiency and productivity.
Vineet Kumar Tiwari, Assistant Vice President, Sales (India)
Additionally, understanding each team member’s skills and abilities helps managers assign tasks that suit their individual skill sets and ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to contribute. Ultimately, this knowledge helps managers create an environment in which team members can succeed and achieve the best possible results.
Always be ready with a back up
In order to prepare a backup for critical assignments, managers must first evaluate the potential risks and consequences of any failure. They must identify the key tasks that need to be done, and the resources that could be used in the event of a failure. Then they must consider the potential effects of any backup event, such as the need to find a substitute employee or the need to bring in outside expertise.
You can always have two people working on one opportunity so that on a given date, one person is always available and both sides of the decision can be taken into account. This is especially important for large enterprise accounts.
Sudipta Mukherjee, Senior Vice President – Sales & Business Development, Sales
Once managers have identified the potential risks and resources, they must consider what kind of backup plan should be put in place. This may include having a backup employee with the same skills and experience as the primary employee or having an outside expert available to help with any tasks that the primary employee cannot complete.
Managers must ensure that their backup plan is implemented properly. This may include having regular training sessions for the backup employee or ensuring that they are available with their expertise when needed.
Murali Krishna, Vice President – Sales, Sales (India)
Closing Remarks
Coming up with the perfect work schedule for your field team is no small feat. But by taking the time to consider all the elements involved, you can ensure that your team is well-rested, productive, and happy. With the right scheduling strategy, your team can work together to reach your goals and make progress. So, take the time to create a schedule that works for everyone, and you’ll all be better off in the long run.
LeadSquared CRM helps to streamline this process by providing you with powerful tools to manage and automate schedules for your sales reps.
With LeadSquared, you can easily assign tasks and goals to each sales rep, track their performance in real time, and even create a daily schedule for them so that they know exactly what needs to be done and when. You can also manage and optimize your team’s performance through data-driven insights and analytics so that you can ensure they are constantly pushing the boundaries of success.
With LeadSquared, creating a better work schedule for your field sales team has never been easier.
To know more about how LeadSquared helps managers know where their field agents are, by using their geo-location and log-in status to keep a tab on them, book a quick 15-minute demo with us.
