Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2009 - (Page 6) MANAGEMENT STRATEGY [By Guillermo Rotman] RETHINKING THE SALES OFFICE Adopting flexible workplace strategies can save you big bucks hether working from a cramped airplane seat, noisy coffee shop or a less-than-private hotel lobby, salespeople—the original business nomads—are more familiar than anyone with the challenges of staying productive while on the move. The latest tech gadgets make it easier to stay connected, but even the most powerful PDA can’t replace the resources a professional office environment provides. The dilemma is that the company facilities that provide an impressive space to host clients, a quiet office to finish an urgent presentation and assistants to help assemble sales materials aren’t always available to salespeople who spend most of their working hours away from the office. W Rethinking old solutions Some organizations address the problem by leasing and outfitting full-time sales outposts in every territory they serve. But the heavy start-up costs and risks associated with traditional real estate can easily outweigh the benefits, especially when the office space likely will be empty more than half the time. Every hour that space goes unoccupied, precious financial, human and natural resources are misspent. Some estimates put the nationwide toll of this wasted office space in the range of $250 billion a year. Another response has been to eliminate the real estate expense altogether, designating fully mobile employees who are expected to work from home when they need an office. And in many cases, remote sales professionals have no “real” office at all, instead making their base camp at home. It’s an ideal solution for some, but it doesn’t work for everyone. The truth is, despite all the tools available to today’s mobile and home-based workers, most employees still depend on access to professional services and support—the kind only a real office can provide—in order to do their best work. suits them best. Here’s an overview of some of the most popular strategies: The anytime, anywhere office. Forward-thinking employers are empowering sales teams to work without ties to any particular satellite office. This approach still includes supplying the usual toolbelt of wireless gadgets, but it also means granting employees access to more places where they can be productive. In fact, today’s mobile workers have more choices than ever for where they can work. So-called “third places”—such as public gathering spots, bookstores and copy centers with high-speed Internet access—are popular choices for more casual work. But when a more professional and private setting is required for your reps’ purposes, fully furnished and equipped business centers fit the bill. The truth is, despite all the tools available to today’s mobile and home-based workers, most employees still depend on access to professional services and support—the kind only a real office can provide—in order to do their best work. Worldwide networks of drop-in business lounges have emerged to serve mobile workers in airports and city centers, as well as next to major corporate campuses. Unlike isolated hotel rooms or busy coffee shops, sales professionals can have immediate walk-in access to private offices, copy and fax machines, the Internet, videoconferencing, meeting rooms and administrative support, as if they were back at headquarters. For sales managers, equipping employees with their own offices becomes as easy as paying an inexpensive membership fee, which can be as low as a few hundred dollars per year. Branching out. When companies do need to open a full-time sales office, move-in-ready business centers strategically located throughout metropolitan areas allow them to do it more efficiently, as these types of offices can be up and running in as little as a day. Guillermo Rotman is CEO of The Regus Group Americas (www.regus.com). Finding a middle ground So then, how can sales managers continue to provide their employees with the resources they need without blowing their budget? The answer may be found in a variety of flexible workplace solutions that give mobile employees the ability to work how, when and where it JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 6 istock photo SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com http://www.regus.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com
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