Time is money when selling, and most of us only have so much time. Many sales managers give the impression to reps that the volume of sales calls is more important than the effectiveness of the sales calls. A sale manager is looking to see a commitment of time put into the selling of the products. They want to make sure you are not golfing on Friday afternoons or for that matter Monday and Wednesday afternoons too.
Not all customers are created equal. As a sales manager I would want to see that my reps were increasing sales with the major accounts that can buy significantly. Not off running around after tiny little accounts to try and prove they are doing their job properly. Here’s how to go about having your reps stop calling on 20% of their customers and making sure sales still grow.
The first step in implementing this idea is to understand each of the sales territories. Many of the sales reps have a good idea of the accounts that can and will produce business. It is those accounts that you want to inspire your sales reps to go after. You should have a meeting with each rep and discuss how you would like them to identify the accounts that may be underperforming.
This should be approached with a positive tone and by letting the rep know that this is not an inquisition. The rep will easily be able to identify the underperforming accounts. Once that is done you need to know for each of the accounts, why your company is not winning the business. Sales reps will be reluctant to pass over this information for fear that their ability to do their job is being questioned. Address this point and reassure the rep that this is not the case.
You need to know every little detail as to how your company could position themselves better. Don’t think by addressing one issue you will have solved the equation.
Now you have the accounts that are underperforming and hopefully a good idea as to why your company is failing short. It is now up to you and the rep to formulate a plan as to how these issues can be addressed. Prioritize how important each account.
The other piece of the equation is that you need to know the accounts that are a drain on the sales reps time. The accounts that constantly complain or waste time and never place orders. Every territory has a number of them. Repeat the same discussion about the time wasting accounts that you had with the underperforming top accounts. Find out why they waste time. What can be done to minimize these effects?
It’s your call to now let the sales rep know that you want them to spend their time increasing the accounts with the most potential. These accounts are normally the top accounts on any territory, and given the right time commitment and tools can product much more business.
You do not approach this shift in time commitment without first putting in place a plan. Set out the time frame that you want to see results and let the rep know they you support them allocating their time differently. Once the rep knows you support them and want to see an increase in the major account business, they will be inspired to pursue those results.
As for the accounts at the bottom on the pile, the fallout of the loss of business form these accounts will be minimal if nonexistent. I have reallocated my time for a number of accounts and in most cases the accounts that are no longer being called on actually increase business. Removing the sales rep from the obligation of visiting these customers that waste peoples time send them a message that they should be buying more.
Having your sales reps reaffirm their commitment to the larger customers will make their job more enjoyable. The negativity produced by problem customers deflates morale and makes it more difficult to spend the time necessary to build the relationships with the big players. In essence you are asking your reps to think their way around the business; but without losing your control because you have the plan in place for where the increase in business will come from.
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