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Time and Territory Management

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Time and Territory Management

• T&T is driven by your goals

• Four categories for time management in sales:

• planning and preparation

• travel and waiting

• face-to-face selling

• non-selling activities (paperwork, sales meetings, customer training)

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Reasons Companies Develop and Use Sales Territories

• To obtain thorough coverage of the market.• To establish each salesperson's responsibilities.• To evaluate performance.• To improve customer relations.• To reduce sales expense.• To allow better matching of salesperson to customer’s

needs.• To benefit both salespeople and the company.

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Account Analysis Drives T&T Management

• Account analysis differs from market analysis. How?• Time management is most effective when it is well planned• Planning:

– analyze accounts– know where you are going and why– schedule as far in advance as possible– use telephone as much as possible, but don’t undervalue face time– review thorough records– determine BEST time to visit people– have contingency plans– confirm meetings before getting on the plane or in the car

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Elements of Time and Territory Management for the Salesperson

Salesperson’s territory’s sales quota

Account analysisSet accountobjectives andsales quotas

Territory-timeallocation

Customer salesplanning

Scheduling androuting

Territory and customerevaluation

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T&T• Travel:

– route calls to reduce travel time– always make appointments– use your lunch time (and dinner if possible)– use waiting time for paperwork, calls, e-mails,…/– reschedule if waiting too long

• Face-to-Face:– see the right person– prepare carefully - know your purpose - over prepare– send materials in advance– get right to the purpose - don’t waste time– listen and take notes– qualify early– contact multiple contacts in company in one trip

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T&T

• Non-Selling Activities:– keep office routine to a minimum - do outside of prime selling

time– don’t stop after a sale or string of bad luck– keep coffee-breaks, office talk, personal business to minimum– watch customer service - manage your relationships with

internal people (office staff, customer service people,..) - you WILL need these people to jump through hoops for you while you are on the road - make sure they want to help you

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Tid-Bits from the Field

• Buy, train yourself, and use a good time management system (paper or electronic)

• Manage both personal and professional life with same system

• “Boiler plate” as much as you can

• Have letters ready and sent immediately following meetings confirming what was agreed to

• Always get back to people within hours if possible - regardless of the time of day

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Tips• Use hotels to their fullest

– e-mail access in room - check and respond at night - what else are you going to do?– Voice-mail - same– use hotel faxes, copy services, when needed– use rooms in hotels for meetings to save time - in and out– choose your hotels wisely (e.g., one with services you need, Courtyard Marriott

always a good choice)

• Keep all receipts organized and file claims as soon as possible• Track your time on activities (treat it like a competition with yourself)• Track your success and failure rates• Be prepared for ANYTHING (e.g., weather, cancellations, bigger than expected

meetings, ….)

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Undifferentiated Selling Approach

Single-sellingapproach Target accounts

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