Vol. XXI

Dear Manager,

One of the most difficult aspects of management is objectively reviewing your sales regions. Without the luxury of day-to-day personal involvement in each territory you must rely on intuition, comparative sales analyses, and instinct. When is it time to reward a salesperson’s efforts by expanding their territory, and when has a territory matured to a level that it can no longer effectively be serviced by one associate?

These are emotionally charged issues for any organization. Only in very rare circumstances can you reduce a territory and continue to maintain an effective and productive relationship with the sales associate involved. Even less likely to occur is a scenario in which a sales associate will suggest to you that an additional associate be added to their region because they can no longer adequately service it alone.

I believe it is critical in the very early stages of your working relationships to establish fundamental expectations and responsibilities for your sales regions. The first fundamental is the assumption that all the manufacturers you represent anticipate, and have the right to expect, growth in your sales regions. All manufacturers develop their organizations with a single objective: growth. With the absence of growth, neither the manufacturer nor the sales force will survive.

The second fundamental is the assurance to all associates that as long as a territory continues to grow at a level consistent with the needs of your manufacturers and those of their peers, you would never consider a change or reduction in their territory. This is a very strong statement, and it should be. Why would an organization initiate change, risk valuable relationships, and send the signal to others that there is a penalty for strong performance?

Managers have the responsibility to meet not only the needs of individual territories, but also those of the whole. This third fundamental is the reality that allowing an individual territory to languish brings risk to those territories that have shown strong performance. How would an individual in a strong territory reflect on my performance as their manager if they were to lose a valued manufacturer because I failed to respond to the poor sales performance of another sales region? There are no limits to the number of other organizations more than willing to prove they could out-perform our organization.

Sooner or later, many territories will grow to the point where one individual can no longer effectively meet the needs of their customers and manufacturers. As much as we like to deny it, no matter how talented we are or how effective we are with our time, we must accept our human limitations. This in no way reflects on our ability; it is simply a reflection of our reality.

In 1980 I reached one of these moments of truth. While covering two states for a group of manufacturers, it became increasingly evident that I could no longer service my customers at a level consistent with their needs. There was simply not enough time, and I felt that I was always two to three weeks behind schedule. With my days “maxxed,” I was inclined to cut corners, serviced only the larger customers and forgot altogether about the option of new account development. Obviously, I couldn’t properly service the ones I had!

There are numerous options to assist your mature sales regions in continuing to grow and meet the needs of the organization. The key factor is to reward your associates a first, second and third (if necessary) opportunity to continue to grow their region. One of the first steps is to maximize the hours actually spent in customer presentations, as there are a very limited number of effective hours in front of our customers.

Suggest to your associates the option of hiring a part-time assistant to handle customer service, appointment scheduling, order follow up and problem solving. There are qualified individuals willing to work a few hours in an associate’s office, or out of their own home, in this capacity.

Not only can an assistant increase an associate’s productivity in the field, but also be a tremendous source of relief for a busy sales executive. Scheduling and problem solving are a very essential, yet time consuming aspect of a sales career. It is the time for account development and pure selling that truly impact our sales region’s ability to succeed.

Another approach to expanding the potential of a territory is by an individual, or group of associates combining their resources to hire a field sales assistant or service person. Many customers no longer require the hands-on, routine support provided by a sales professional. Why not use a well-informed sales or service assistant to establish consistent reorder cycles? A strong sales professional knows what their time is worth. With additional time in the field devoted to account development and selling (generating income!), a service assistant can effectively and efficiently meet a sales region’s needs for continued expansion.

It is critical to ask your associates to continue to meet the needs of their customers, manufacturers and the organization. No one enjoys the process of giving something up or taking something away; this should only be considered as a last resort. Give your associates options that will effectively meet your and their responsibilities. Expect them to step up to the challenge. If they choose not to, they must certainly be willing to accept the alternative.

The obvious time for management to make territorial adjustments is when a territory is vacant. At this time there are no emotional ties, or legitimate (or perceived) responsibilities to impact your decision. When a territory becomes vacant, it is your single opportunity to review its needs objectively. All options and innovations are now available to you.

Some questions to ask yourself may include:

• What are the current market conditions in this region?
• Was the previous associate adequately compensated for their performance?
• Is the current line presentation on an upward or downward curve?
• Will this territory effectively support more than one associate?
• Is there the option of adding additional opportunity to the region?

Look at the region based on the needs of today. The reasons behind a very good decision made years ago often no longer exist, while what may have been a very poor decision at the time continues to exist! What changes would you make if the slate were clean? This is a very valuable thought process, even though you may never have the opportunity to bring it to implementation.

Just as there are market conditions that warrant territory division, there are times that warrant existing territory expansion. Do each of your sales regions have the legitimate capacity to provide a reasonable income for their associates? If not, is this a direct reflection on the capacity of the sales region, or the capacity of the individual? Does the opportunity exist to both challenge and reward a sales individual’s efforts, strengthening their position into the future?

Formulate current and long-term objectives for each of your sales regions and discuss these plans with your associates. Establish an understanding of the region’s requirements prior to a time of concern when emotions are calm. Be creative. Offer options. Re-think your current territory divisions or line packages as market conditions change. Territory management and its many ensuing decisions “define” our organization and us, individually, as managers.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2008. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM