Chapter 15 Managing Your Time and Territory

Chapter 15 Managing Your Time and Territory

The Value Of Time l “Time is money” l Salespeople average 920 hours a year in front of customers l Salespeople must make every hour count to be successful Often a question of how to allocate resources l Think about how much time you have spent on your university education l ____Hours in class X ____hours studying = ______

The Time Management Matrix Urgent I m p o r t a n t N o t I m p o r t a n t Not Urgent I II Activities: Prevention, PC activities Relationship building Recognizing new opportunities Planning, recreation Activities: Crises Pressing Problems Deadline-driven projects III Activities: Interruptions, some calls Some mail, some reports Some meetings Proximate, pressing matters Popular activities IV Activities: Trivia, busy work Some mail Some phone calls Time wasters Pleasant activities

The Self-Management Process The four stages of the self-management process include: 1) Setting goals 2) Allocating resources 3) Implementing The Time Management Strategy 4) Evaluating performance

Setting Goals The Need For Goals l Career goals and objectives should reflect personal ambitions and desires l Sales goals provide some of the means for reaching personal objectives l Guides the decision process l Increases performance

Goals The Nature Of Goals should be specific and measurable l Goals should be reachable yet challenging l Goals should also be time based l Types Of Sales Goals Performance Goals l Goals relating to outcomes, such as revenue l These types of goals should be set first l Do not always need to be quantifiable

Goals Activity Goals l Behavioral objectives that reflect how hard the salesperson wants to work l All are intermediate goals Conversion Goals l Measures of a salesperson’s efficiency l They reflect how efficiently the salesperson uses resources, such as time, to accomplish performance goals Setting Sales Goals l Performance and conversion goals are the basis for activity goals

Allocating Resources To Be Allocated Salespeople consider physical resources as investments because resources must be managed wisely to generate the best possible return l A key resource that salespeople manage is time l Where To Allocate Resources l Often a question of finding the customers or companies that are most likely to buy and then allocating resources to maximize the opportunities they offer

Account Classification and Resource Allocation ABC Analysis l Simplest classification scheme that ranks accounts by sales potential – know the 80/20 rule – see P. 404 l Classification schemes can be used to generate call plans l Works well with industries that have regular contact with the same accounts. Examples: Eli Lilly and SC Johnson Wax

Account Classification Grid Analysis Sales call allocation grid- classifies accounts on the basis of the company’s competitive position with an account along with the accounts sales potential – Exhibit 15. 4 -P. 405 & Exhibit 15. 5 -P. 406 Account-opportunity- indicates how much the customer needs/able to buy the product Strength of position- indicates how strong the salesperson and company are in selling the account

Sales Call Allocation Grid The Grid and Current Customers l Great tool for analyzing current customers l Research has found customer share to be a better resource of profit than market share Market Analysis l Evaluation of opportunity within segments in the overall territory to determine allocation of time and other resources Using The Computer For Analysis l The new sales automation software products are designed to lets salespeople determine where an account stands in the buying cycle

The Grid & Current Customers l Landmark study: – Customer share, also called account share, is the average percentage of business received from a company’s accounts in a particular category. Similar term – share of wallet! – Paper and Plastic Industry study – account share VERY IMPORTANT, not necessarily number of accounts!

Investing in Accounts Sales Technology l Can predict revenue based on purchase history l Determines where to invest time in free sample, trials, training, & displays

Time Management Strategies Investing In Accounts l Strategies require the use of several resources l Salespeople invest in time, free samples or trials, customer training, displays and other resources in their customers l Customers generate nearly all of a firm’s revenue

Implementing The Time Management Strategy l Time is a limited resource Daily Activity Planning l Salespeople must have a good understanding of their own work habits Guidelines Salespeople must allocate time for prospecting and customer care Prime selling time- time of day at which a salesperson is most likely to see a buyer l Prime selling time differs from country to country l

Time Management Planning Process Make a to-do list and prioritize your schedule l Estimate the time required for each activity l Develop an effective time schedule l Using The Computer For Planning Tickler file- file or calendar that salespeople use to remember when to call specific accounts Need For Flexibility l To plan for the unexpected make sales calls prioritized; adjust your schedule to fit time concerns

Time Management Making More Calls Develop efficient routes and make daily plans l “Out Tuesday, back Friday complex” l The sales rep must make full use of all available days to get the most out of the territory l Routing – P. 413 l Method of planning sales calls in a specific order to minimize travel time Routine call patterns- salespeople see the customers regularly Variable call patterns- when the salesperson must call on accounts in an irregular order

Time Management Routing (Contd. ) Four types of routing plans: P. 413 Circular routing Leapfrog routing Straight-line routing Cloverleaf routing Zoning Definition: Dividing the territory into zones, based on ease of travel and concentration of customers, to minimize travel time l Works best for compact territories or on non-regular sales calls

Time Management Using Mail and Telephone l Customers may appreciate a time saving call over a visit l Salespeople can make numerous customer care calls Handling Paperwork and Reports Salespeople should think positively about paperwork l Salespeople should not let paperwork accumulate l Routine reports should be completed daily l Salespeople should set aside a block of nonselling time for paperwork l

Time Management Using The Computer To Handle Paperwork and Communications Make use of a laptop l Can help international selling organizations operate smoothly reducing communication barriers l Territory management capabilities l E-mail – no errors & within 24 hours l by

Evaluating Performance Postcall Analysis l Salespeople should take a moment to write down what occurred and what needs to be done after each call Activity Analysis l Salespeople should review their activities in relations to their goals Performance Analysis l An earnings goal can be an effective check for overall performance, and evaluate sales by product type Productivity Analysis l Identify which strategies work Conversion ratio- number of sales per calls; important measure of effectiveness