Understanding the vital role of a distributor field sales team

BY TOM METCALF
Special to The Wholesaler

The following are three very interesting observations on how people, companies and teams are hoping to gain a competitive advantage:

• The U.S. military invests billions of dollars in gathering and reviewing field intelligence. UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are on the front lines 24/7 scanning, photographing, monitoring and safeguarding our men and women of the armed forces. It can be said that UAVs are the “eyes and ears” of the military.

• NASCAR has implemented HD video use in pit row to analyze their crews and to see how they can shave off as little as .001 of a second for the time it takes to get a car back on the track.

• Professional athletes and their coaches spend countless hours poring over game film to break down and analyze not only their own performance, but also the competition.

As you can see, companies invest incredible amounts of money on improving how they gather market intelligence, increase performance, and focus on gaining a competitive advantage.

Wholesale distributors, how much do you invest in the management and coaching of your field sales teams? Your field sales reps are your “eyes and ears” in the field. They should be the revenue producing engine that drives sales through your front door!

Have you ever heard “I’m a commission sales rep, just look at my numbers and if they drop, we can talk. Otherwise, stay out of my way!”? Often it seems that the highest producing field sales reps wish to distance themselves from management as much as possible. Or worse, the mid-level producer or bottom producer gets very defensive when his or her manager wants to ride a long and make some calls. (By the way, have you ever noticed that those days, the “ride-a-long” days are the best planned and well thought out days you have ever experienced? Perhaps the next question should be “How come every day is not like that?”)

Here are three suggestions to ensure your field sales team is maximizing their time in the field, and maximizing the profits on the bottom line:

• Have your reps track the time they enter their first sales call each day. Suppose they stop by the office or branch every morning and afternoon to start and end their day. Suppose while in the office they do call reports or update their contact management program, visit with co-workers, check stock on certain products, sip a hot cup-o-joe and then head out to make sales calls. If they only do that for three hours each morning that’s 63 hours per month of lost face-to-face selling time! (Keep in mind, that’s only allowing for two hours of office time and one hour for commuting.)

• Have them track what time they leave their last customer/prospect each day. What would happen if your reps made just one more call per day, at the end of the day? Could they stop by their customers shop when the workers are off loading for the day? Could they buy a drink for an owner who is finishing up his day in the office before heading home? IF they made just one more visit each day that’s an additional 21 sales calls per month!

• Have them total the number of calls they make each day. I will be the last one to sacrifice quality over quantity in this economy. However, are they spending too much time with clients/prospects that do not have the potential to buy more products? If they are able to shorten their visits, without sacrificing the quality of the visit, by just 15 minutes they could add 1 hour and 15 minutes per day to see more clients (assuming they make five sales calls per day).

Now for the simple mat Add 63 hours from implementing suggestion #1. Next, add one more sales call per day, totaling an additional 21 sales calls per month. Finally, add 26 hours a month by implementing #3.

In total that is 21 additional sales calls plus 89 hours to make even more calls each month!

“But Tom,” you say, “that is unrealistic; there are so many variables to consider.” Okay, cut that number in half. Let’s say 44.5 additional hours of face-to-face selling time and 10.5 additional calls per month! Still too outrageous – cut the numbers in half once again — 22.25 hours and 5.25 calls per month that each of your reps could add to their productivity.

Let’s face it, you have assessed, hacked, whacked, cut and removed all the slush you had in your business. Last year was brutal but your doors are still open. From today moving forward it’s all about building. It’s all about increasing the visibility, accountability and productivity of your field sales team, and coaching them to the success of your company.

Tom Metcalf is the president and CEO of the Telenotes Sales Productivity System. He can be reached at tomm@telenotes.net or by dialing 866-835-3668.