Back when the idea of a “virtual office” or a “paperless office” was all the corporate world could think about, for many of us, the concept sounded very appealing. Everything was to be done and stored in computers. You could do it all in the flick of  switch, the click of a mouse. You wouldn’t even need to talk to your co-workers anymore.

In 2007, a study showed that by the year 2009 (this year), 41% of the time employees spend in the office would be used for responding to emails.

Forty-one percent! In case you haven’t noticed, that’s a pretty big number. But who could blame anyone? Emails are quick and easy to use. No wonder the people in your office would rather just send emails than have to talk to anyone face-to-face.

That’s the problem. Sending emails is safer, more convenient, and to a sales person, its so darn ineffective.

Here we tackle the issue of personal relationship versus the convenience brought on by technology. For instance, it’s almost impossible to establish trust between sales manager and sales rep if their only point of communication is through their Blackberries.

No amount of electronic messaging is going to replace the intimacy and familiarity of actual human contact – this is important especially for sales reps.

A good leader “gets in their grill“, (as one of my former bosses used to say). And as the sales manager, you need to get in your reps grill. Talk to your sales reps, ask their opinions, consider their point-of-view. Give them a call and offer to help them on their jobs from time to time. When I say talk to them, I mean talk to them. Keep that Blackberry in your pocket, and walk over to their workstations or get out in the field with them and find out whats really going on using actual human contact.

It’s so simple, and it’s much more effective than typing a one-liner email on Outlook.

In later posts, we’ll be discussing the famous concept, Managing By Walking Around, which became popular back in the late 80s. As a sales manager it’s crucial that you learn this principle. It’ll teach you how to earn more by working less, and how to place yourself as an optimal candidate for promotion.

Skip the blackberry stuff. Establish a two-way relationship with your sales people.

Post a response to this post and tell me what techniques you have used to decrease your reliance on email as a management tool.

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