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Key takeaways
Non-selling time for sales reps is every hour spent on admin instead of customers: CRM updates, proposal formatting, scheduling, quote chasing and internal reports. Salespeople in small firms often spend a third or more of their week on it. Much of it is teachable, checkable and remote, so it is a rich source of outsourcing candidates.
- Sort a sales week into selling, preparing and admin.
- Admin often takes a third or more of the week.
- CRM updates, proposals and scheduling usually move.
- Pricing, negotiation and closing stay with the rep.
Want your sales team's admin sized? Message us on WhatsApp.
Chat on WhatsApp →Why measure non-selling time?
Because every hour of sales admin is an hour not spent with prospects, and salespeople are usually among the more expensive people in a small firm. Measuring it turns a vague complaint, 'too much admin', into a list of tasks with hours attached, which is what you need to decide what could move.
Which sales admin tasks usually move?
These pass the outsourcing signals in most sales teams.
- Updating the CRM from call notes and emails.
- Formatting proposals and quotes from a template.
- Booking meetings and sending confirmations.
- Chasing quote responses on a set schedule.
- Building weekly pipeline reports.
- Researching prospects before calls.
Which sales tasks should stay?
Discovery conversations, pricing judgement, negotiation and closing stay with the salesperson, because they depend on relationship and authority. So do decisions about which deals to pursue. The rule is simple: if it is talking to the customer or deciding the deal, it stays; if it is recording, preparing or chasing, it can move.
What does this look like in practice?
A pattern we see: salespeople log a week and find admin, mostly CRM updates, proposal formatting and chasing, takes a large part of it. Moving the recording, preparing and chasing to a support team gives them back selling time without adding headcount.
Sales admin checklist
- Log one week of each salesperson's time.
- Sort it into selling, preparing and admin.
- List each admin task with its hours.
- Move recording, preparing and chasing.
- Keep conversations, pricing and closing.
Next step
Ask each salesperson to log one week in half-hour blocks. Total the admin before discussing any change.
Message us on WhatsApp for the sales time log, or book a 30-minute consultation.
Chat on WhatsApp →Sources and further reading
- Earnings and hours worked, occupation by four-digit SOC: ASHE Table 14 · Office for National Statistics
- Controllers and processors · Information Commissioner's Office
Frequently asked questions
What is non-selling time?
Time a salesperson spends on anything other than selling activities with prospects and customers: updating systems, formatting proposals, scheduling, chasing, internal meetings and reports. Some is necessary, but much can be handled by sales support so the salesperson spends more time with buyers.
How can I give my sales team more selling time?
Measure a week of their time, list the admin tasks, and move the ones that are about recording, preparing and chasing to a support team or provider. Keep discovery, pricing, negotiation and closing with the salespeople. Simplifying CRM fields also cuts admin.
Can an outsourced team update our CRM?
Yes, from call notes, emails or short voice memos left by the salesperson. Agree which fields they update, what a complete record looks like and how quickly updates happen. Give them their own login with limited permissions rather than sharing a salesperson's account.
Written by
Global Bridge Labs (GBL) is a UK–Sri Lanka partner for social media, websites and BPO. Everything here comes from client delivery, not theory.
