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I work with many reps helping them grow their businesses. Recently I received the following copy of a letter from a rep principal/owner to one of his salespeople. Please read carefully. The names have been disguised to protect the guilty.

Dear Charlie,

I would like to recap our phone conversation from Friday. As I discussed with you, there are some principals who have expressed concerns with your performance in the territory you cover for our rep firm.

Line 1: Pete was extremely upset by the lack of progress that you made this year with Jones Supply. As he pointed out to me, there was a lot of time and effort made by many to get the rebate contract signed, and to his surprise very little if anything was done by you to help get the ball rolling.

Line 2: The sales manager has expressed his concerns regarding your penetration of this substantial account and your lack of end-user contacts throughout your territory. He is also not happy that you have not been able to test product at J&L.

Line 3: John continues to be concerned with the lack of activity coming from your territory, especially Delaware.

Line 4: George feels that the majority of demos that you do for his product seldom turn into orders — why?

Line 5: Sam has noted the lack of testing being performed since you have had the line.

Line 6: Lou feels that most of the efforts from our firm for their line are through other salespeople. He does not think you are engaged with the major distribution as much as you should be.

Miscellaneous Comments: I have had manufacturers tell me on numerous occasions that when you call them you are seldom calling with positive news regarding potential sales or opportunities. All they seem to hear from you is negative regarding problems in your territory.

• Miscommunications — on three separate occasions this year, there was a miscommunication on appointments.
• Contacts — you never completed this task on time. You were reminded several times about it. Frankly, if I had not sent you a reminder last month it still might not be completed.
• Leads from distributor show — I had to ask you a number of times to provide me with the leads from the show.
• Follow-up — I sent you an e-mail last week stating that you need to do a follow up e-mail to James Smith regarding your week working with him. I asked that you cc me on your follow-up, as of today I still don’t have anything from you.
• Losing territory — the bulk of our business for Line 7 was from your territory, which made losing the line very disappointing.

I have enjoyed working with you over the years and want to continue with you in the future. However, if we are placed in a position to lose another product line based on another manufacturer’s concerns about your territory, I will have to make a change for our company.

I will be happy to discuss this further with you.

Dr. Revenue’s Reaction — Real Time — Real Life!

Here is the e-mail I sent to my friend, the rep principal:

Louis, this is a fabulous letter, but even though your position at the end is strong, I don’t think you are thinking the right way. You are kicking the can down the road.

This guy is not performing in a performance-based business. We have nothing to sell except results for our principals.

I wish you would put the search for a new man [or woman] in high gear and be resolved to be rid of Charlie by Christmas, if not sooner.

The next line or lines you lose could really cripple your company. Letting situations like this slide for years as you have is damaging the company reputation. Your reputation is the thing you prize most and rely on most to keep advancing your business. What do you think these sales managers you named are thinking of you and your rep firm? People emphasize the negative.

This bad apple is spoiling all of the fruit.

We wrote a good employment ad. You have contacts. You seem unwilling to face facts and get on with it. You wrote a perfect letter. I intend to keep it as an example [disguised of course] as the basis of an article for Agency Sales.

You have come a long way with all aspects of running and growing your business, but the bottom line is that the branch office sells the sales team first and foremost. When you allow a loser to pull you down, you risk the whole thing!

You know I admire and respect you, but for goodness sake get on with it. I almost think you would be better off with the territory empty than allowing this guy to continue to poison the water.

Your friend,
John

A New Broom is Needed!

Rep principals need to be aggressive about keeping the sales organization at peak performance level. Enough said.