The document discusses time and territory management for salespeople. It covers four categories of time management: planning, travel, face-to-face selling, and non-selling activities. Companies develop sales territories to obtain market coverage, establish responsibilities, evaluate performance, improve customer relations, reduce expenses, and match salespeople to customers. Account analysis informs time management planning by analyzing accounts, knowing objectives, and scheduling in advance. Salespeople must allocate time between territories, accounts, objectives, and customer planning. Tips include routing calls to reduce travel time, preparing for meetings, following up immediately, and tracking activities.
2. 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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3. 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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4. 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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5. Elements of Time and Territory Management for
the Salesperson
Salesperson’s Set account
territory’s Account analysis objectives and
sales quota sales quotas
Territory-time
allocation
Territory and
Scheduling and Customer sales
customer
routing planning
evaluation
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6. 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
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– contact multiple contacts in company in one trip
7. 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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8. 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 - 8
regardless of the time of day
9. 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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