Home Office? For Sales People in Agribusiness, It’s the Car Office
When people say home office, they usually imagine a desk at home, a decent internet connection, and maybe a cup of rooibos on the side. But for sales people in agribusiness, the real office is not a quiet study at home – it’s the car. The vehicle is the workspace, the meeting room, the filing cabinet, and sometimes even the lunch table. Yet, many colleagues and decision-makers inside companies don’t quite grasp this reality.
The Misunderstanding of “Working from Home”
Within internal chats, video calls, and company networks, there is often a hidden frustration: colleagues at headquarters believe that sales reps “work from home” like everyone else. That means they expect immediate availability during “office hours” for chat messages, information requests, and online meetings.
For someone who spends three to four days a week on the road, that expectation is not just unrealistic, it’s disruptive. A rep might be driving from farm to farm, checking fields, or preparing for the next client meeting. For them, “office hours” are often in the evenings, back at the guesthouse, or early in the morning before hitting the road again.
The issue is not laziness or lack of discipline – it’s simply a different rhythm of work. As sales author Daniel Pink pointed out in When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (2018), productivity follows the cycles of the day, and for field reps the cycles are determined by travel and client schedules, not HQ office hours.
Staying in the Loop from the Road
It is already difficult to keep track of what’s happening inside a company when you’re not in headquarters regularly. Being on the road adds another layer of complexity. Decisions get made in quick “corridor conversations” at HQ, while the sales team only finds out days later – sometimes not at all.
Sales reps rely heavily on digital communication: CRM systems, WhatsApp groups, Teams or Zoom meetings. But let’s be honest: CRMs don’t “do the job for you.” They’re great for recording customer interactions, forecasting sales pipelines, and keeping management happy. But the actual work – preparing for visits, following up after meetings, planning ahead for weeks and months – still depends on the rep’s own discipline and organisation.
As Neil Rackham’s classic SPIN Selling (1988) reminds us, effective sales work is built on preparation, thoughtful questioning, and follow-up. No digital tool can replace the human element of building trust and creating value for customers.
The Car as an Office
Some companies have started cutting back on company cars and travel budgets, believing that digital tools can replace physical visits. This is, frankly, short-sighted. In agribusiness, relationships are built in the fields, in the barns, at the farm kitchen table. No video call can replace the handshake after walking through a maize field or discussing fertiliser trials while standing in the soil.
To put it into perspective:
- The average office rental in your city is WHAT? per square metre per month. Multiply that by a medium-sized office space of 20 m² plus utilities, and you’ get the idea.
- A company car costs about the same (finance, fuel, insurance). But unlike a static office, the car office moves to where the client is. It generates revenue – even after hours.
Cutting cars is like cutting desks at HQ and expecting office staff to sit on the pavement with their laptops. Ludicrous.
Tips for Sales Reps on the Road
So how do agribusiness reps manage the tension between the demands of HQ and the realities of the road? A few practical strategies can help:
- Set Communication Boundaries
Let colleagues know when you’re driving and can’t respond. Use your CRM notes or calendar to block travel times so HQ sees when you’re unavailable. - Batch Admin Work
Dedicate specific time slots (mornings, evenings, or Friday afternoons) for updating CRMs, answering emails, and catching up on internal news. - Use Voice Notes Wisely
When pressed for time, record a quick voice note after a meeting. It’s faster than typing and captures details while fresh. - Plan Ahead, But Stay Flexible
Farmers’ schedules change with weather, harvests, or emergencies. Build buffer time into your route planning. - Keep Learning
Books like New Sales. Simplified. by Mike Weinberg (2012) and Agri-Business Management by Freddie L. Barnard et al. (2016) offer timeless reminders: sales in agriculture is about persistence, planning, and understanding the farmer’s world.
The Lifeline of Every Commercial Organisation
Sales reps in agribusiness are not just employees on the road. They are the lifeline of the company. Every order, every relationship, every piece of feedback from the field flows through them. Cutting their tools – especially the car office – is like choking the very pipeline that brings revenue.
So next time someone says, “Oh, you work from home?” – the answer should be:
“No. I work from my car. And that’s where the business happens.”