When we think of a sales focussed workplace it’s easy to imagine busy, hectic environments, but less so the office detail. When most businesses rely to some degree on sales and lead generation, thoughtful detail is important. To be ‘sales focussed’ does not mean that you meed to be the Wolf of Wall Street! You can gently encourage positive working practices that create a successful sales environment by paying attention to specific aspects of your office environment. And not a gong in sight!
Colour
Use colour to encourage productivity. Tones of blue are popular for walls and furniture. This calming and focussed colour will help your workforce hold their nerve and maintain their focus. Don’t forget the importance of unifying a team when you plan the decoration of a sales focussed environment. You can draw colleagues together by reflecting the branding of your organisation in the decor itself. Furniture and art should serve to reinforce angles and shapes that feature in the branding of the organisation. All of this consideration of colour and shape could be lost without due consideration of lighting. It is well documented that natural light is great for the wellbeing of a workforce. So use glass within a sales floor design to help to diffuse natural light across an open plan space.
Communication
Facilities to communicate are key not just within a sales team, but across a whole organisation. Wall mounted information screens help colleagues to maintain competition and communication within their teams. These screens should be visible across a sales floor so positioning is key. Communicating great results is a key method of recognition and screens can work really well here too. Some organisations go so far as to ‘gamify’ sales results with leaderboards, and points based performance records.
Energy
For a busy sales environment, it is key to maintain energy levels within your workforce. The surge in popularity of height adjustable desks is important here. Users of multi-height desks which encourage and accommodate flexibility of posture report less back pain. Working in a standing posture can also encourage a more proactive approach to tasks and increase confidence. Your office temperature should be ambient for a well performing sales team. Maintain a temperature of between 18 – 20 degrees Celsius to remain comfortable for this very active aspect of the business.
Integration
Your overall office layout should not seek to isolate sales staff from creatives or engineers. Yes, these departments require differing levels of noise control, but beware your office layout actually causing rifts. Communication across the organisation can help here, with sales activity being actively communicated to other parts of the business. Especially in areas of delivery where other departments must fulfil the agreements made by sales teams. However, there is no substitute for physical presence, so position social areas to be accessible by multiple departments. These opportunities for casual communication to take place can encourage creative ideas and problem solving across the organisation.
Privacy
Even within your sales department, it is important to offer variety of space. While open plan layouts are great to encourage collaborative working and communication, they can negatively impact focus. Within a sales focussed layout, then, include private and semi-private spaces. Achieve this in a predominantly open plan ‘sales floor’ by integrating small meeting pods and private zones for sensitive calls. When so much space is visible, it is vital to keep clutter controlled. A competitive sales environment relies on clarity of thought. So install custom built storage furniture which uses every corner of your office space, allowing sales staff plenty of room to store records and paperwork.
A sales area is a vital part of the office and should be designed with optimisation in mind. By implementing constructive solutions in your office decoration and layout, the success of your sales teams can filter through the whole business.
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