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IN ABour oNE our oF every two seminars that I do, I hear this question: How many sales calls should a salesperson make?

This question springs from a manager's concern for defining what constitutes a "good sales day." And salespeople want to know so that they have some ammunition io fend off unreasonable expectations of their managers. So, let me settle the issue once and for all.'. I don't know.

I don't know how many sales calls any particular salesperson should make, nor do I have any idea how many calls a class of salespeople should make.

Why don't know? Because of all the variables. For example, if you are brand new in your territory, you should make more calls than someone who is well established. If you have a compact geographical area, you should make more calls than someone who has alarge, rural area. If you carry 20,000 items, you should make fewer calls than someone who sells three lines. If you sell a non-technical commodity product, you should make more calls than someone selling a highly technical piece of capital equipment. And so it goes. The variables that define your specific situation dictate how many sales calls you should make.

One of the reasons this question comes up has to do with a typical manager's concern with making sure that the salesperson is working hard enough in order to be successful. I prefer to think in two alternate ways instead of thinking about the number of sales calls.

First, how many hours should a salesperson work? The most recent survey I've seen indicated that the average salesperson works about 49 hours a week' That seems like a good standard to me. Sales is not an 8:30 to 4:30,40hour-a-week job. I've never worked just 40 hours. So, let's say that a good work week for a field salesperson is around 45 to 50 hours.

Now, rather than look at how many sales calls should be made in that time frame, I'm more concerned that the salesperson is using those 45 to 50 hours most effectively. To me, it's ultimately about the quality of the sales calls rather than the quantity. There is a relationship between the two. The greater the quality of the sales call, the fewer calls are possible. The lesser the quality of the call, the more calls can be made. I suppose that a salesperson could make 100 calls in the course of a week, if each of those calls were in and out in five minutes. But would they be worthwhile? Probably not.

If the salesperson had created powerful business relationships with all the key people in an account' if the salesperson spent time understanding the customer at deeper ievels (recall my "peeling the onion" analogy), if the salesperson created and presented creative proposals' if the salesperson helped orchestrate the implementation to a new product, if the salesperson leveraged his/her relationships into more and more opportunities within an account-in other words, if the salesperson was good at what he/she does-that takes time.

You can see that the real issue is the quality, not the quantity, of the sales calls. So, everything else being equal, I'd prefer that the salesperson make fewer rather than more sales calls.

I'd also want the salesperson to be guided by all the principles of good sales time management that I describe in my sales time management book. Stay out of the office, make cold-blooded business decisions about which customers to invest in, nurture helpful relationships, stay balanced, etc.

When a salesperson works a sufficient quantity of time, and works in an effective way, producing high quality sales calls, then that salesperson is working in such a way as to be successful.

Those are the more important issues: l. quantity of time,

2. effective decisions,

3. quality sales calls.

- Dave Kahle is a leading sales educator, speaker and author of nine books, including How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime. Reach him at dave@davekahle.com.