8•


SMART MANAGEMENT


It’s time to spiff up for 2011 A


s we get into the heart of 2011, it is a good time to renew your vows with the


customers that you serve. The very best wholesalers understand that their relationship with their contractor partners is a lot like a marriage. This is one facet of earning the “Primary Supplier” relationship. There is a long term view, there is the desire for a win/win outcome and there is for- giveness. (When I described this at one of my live seminars, an attendee indicated that, based on his spouse’s “forgiveness” level, I might want to work on a different example. Since I knew the guy pretty well, I suggested that some of us needed a lot more for- giveness than others. He agreed that was true in his case.) Your first task should be to review


customer and prospect lists to plan your account goals and tactics for the year. I’ll outline some ideas for your consideration.


Evaluate customer impact With all customer actions, care-


fully evaluate the impact to your company (economic, emotional, ex- ternal) and take any actions at your


• You CAN fire customers • Plan sales efforts • Change territory assignments as needed


• Get rid of marginals • Spruce up counter area


convenience. One of our clients fired a long-time customer and got an un- expected reaction from other cus- tomers: “I was concerned that my other customers would be unhappy when I fired a fairly prominent con- tractor. Instead, several called me and told me that it was about !@#!$ time that I stopped carrying the no-good, %^&$%^ turkey. The fact that I car- ried the guy allowed him to screw up the market for my good customers.” They don’t all have a happy ending; but if you do it carefully, it will often make your life better in the end.


Review your account plans


There should be an annual account plan for each substantive or poten-


tially substantive account that includes: • Account size in dollars (how


much they buy from all suppliers) •Historical sales for your company — Expressed in dollars and as a per-


centage of their total buying • Forecast sales for your company — Expressed in dollars and as a per-


centage of their total buying • Account actions for the year —


Grow, Maintain, Fire, etc. • Planned sales efforts — When


you see an action with no planned sales effort, you should remember


that “Hope is not a strategy.” • Executive initiatives for the ac-


count. Review/revise territory assignments


Some wholesalers might be think- ing that the quotas and plans are al-


ready set for the year. Most plans were set 30 to 90 days ago and things have changed some in that time so a review might be prudent. Of course, the com- pany should honor all agreements. However, I would hope that all agree- ments allow for adjustments in account assignments and quotas as the com-


pany sees fit. • First, look at call reports, account


activity and planned sales efforts to determine which accounts are not being served or, in spite of sales ef- forts, are not performing and thus should be converted to “House” ac- counts. Always do this with care, but most wholesaler salespeople have as- signed accounts wherein the salesper- son’s only role seems to be dropping the customer’s price. Simply chang- ing them to “House” accounts, with “House” account pricing, may make them more profitable.


•THE WHOLESALER® — FEBRUARY 2011


BY RICH SCHMITT Management specialist


ing significant time in the field, now is the time to get that fixed, too. I think sales managers in our industry should have the title “Field Sales Manager” to clearly state that a lot of their time is out with their sales team and the customers. It is seductively easy to become an inward-facing sales manager who is a glorified sales analyst, sales forecaster, human re- source administrator, salesperson for a couple of big accounts and baby sit- ter. Senior management wants num-


I think sales managers in our industry should have the title ‘Field Sales Manager’ to clearly state that a lot of their time is out with their sales team and the customers.


• If, while you were reading the


previous point, you said to yourself, “We really need to do call reports,” there is no time like the present. Call reports and call planning are a part of fielding a professional sales team. (For info on call reports and call plan-


ning, e-mail me at rich@go-spi.com) • Typically, you will get some


pushback from salespeople. I know that your professional sales team would never resort to these tactics,


but in other industries they do occur: A. Salespeople might throw tan -


trums on your office floor. Some might cry real tears while showing pictures of their kids and the family dog, who will all be homeless if any changes are made to their finely-tuned account list. (Having witnessed this, I have wondered if the salesperson was


selling as sincerely to his customers.) B. A few might tell some great “fish


stories” describing how the customer only does business with your horrible company due to his or her outstanding sales efforts. Only through his/her tire- less work will the customer put up with the poor service, outrageous pricing and meager inventories and still buy


from the company. C. Some might threaten to quit and


take all their customers with them. While this seldom occurs, the fact that your sales manager spends sig- nificant time in the field creating a re- lationship with each customer will make this very difficult. If your sales manager isn’t spend-


bers, HRM wants all the compliance forms, the sales manager is afraid to give up “his” accounts and the sales team doesn’t want their sales man-


ager in their business. D. Some may actually call a few customers for the first time in many


years, to solicit support for their cause. • When changes are not possible,


put the assigned salesperson on no- tice that specific accounts may be re- moved from their list based upon


performance. • Also a reminder that in most


cases, “territories” should be a list of customers and prospects, not a geo- graphical area. This list is then the undivided focus of the salesperson’s activity. The salesperson or the com- pany can always add a new prospect to the list but only the customers and prospects on the list are called-on. Even though you may get some re-


sistance, a review is still in order. You may decide to live with some assign- ments for now and adjust them for next year. You may decide that some assignments need to be changed im- mediately. The important thing is to conduct the review and then make explicit decisions.


Breaking up is hard to do Determine if a divorce is in order


for some of your contractor-partners. I was conducting a High Performance Wholesaling seminar for a whole- saler’s sales and branch teams last (Turn to Throttle up... page 67.)


• Be sure to visit www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •


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