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Keeping a key person is not always possible.

Joe, the best salesperson and a vital part of the rep agency suddenly decided he did not want to be there anymore.

Seriously, this guy was making big dollars and doing very well. The owner of the agency had even given him a 10 percent share of the business and promised more to come. What more could the guy want?

This situation is not farfetched. It doesn’t happen every day, but it happens often enough for owners of agencies to be concerned. What can a smart, loyal, very involved rep agency owner do about it?

The bottom line is nothing. Agencies can’t hold on to someone who does not want to be there. But what about the company? How does an agency ensure itself against the loss of a key sales representative?

The answer is in the organized planning system that the agency employs. What type of sales planning is done? How visible is the salesperson’s planning and activity with the accounts served? This is the most important question for the company as a whole. The loss of a key person is always disruptive. Knowing what is going on with the accounts the person is handling is vital to the agency’s continued success with those accounts.

Start With Reporting

When the agency has a regular reporting process, it has a starting point for knowing what is going on with every account served by every salesperson. Several CRM systems facilitate this type of planning and record keeping for the benefit of the salesperson and for the company’s protection.

Another type of “insurance” is developed by having the owner or top management out in the field regularly with the salespeople. When the owner or top manager travels with the salespeople to visit their key accounts the agency’s link to the customer is cemented and picking up for the departing salesperson is easier.

Fast action is key to the agency maintaining the relationships with the customer and assuring future business. Immediate action to assign a new salesperson to the customer is mandatory. The agency needs to move fast to get a salesperson assigned and to get the salesperson out to visit the customer.

Often it will make sense for the owner or senior manager to go with the salesperson to introduce him or her to the customer and discuss the plans and programs that the departed salesperson was working on with the customer. It is very important to re-assure the customer that there is no loss in service and support just because the previous salesperson departed.

Customer Visits

When visiting the customer, it is important that the agency personnel demonstrate full knowledge of the previous activity, key elements of the business relationship with the agency’s principal lines and special features of the customer’s purchasing and sales programs.

In order to know what is going on the agency needs to check in with each of the manufacturers that the customer has purchased substantial amounts from. By getting the manufacturers involved the agency adds depth of knowledge to its presentation to the customer and further demonstrates that they know what is going on and they will be able to maintain a very high level of service.

“It will take us time to come up to speed” is not an acceptable statement for the customer to hear. When the agency visits the customer for the first time after the key salesperson has departed the agency needs to be 100 percent up to speed.

Finally, the personal side of the relationship between the customer and the agency personnel needs to be considered. What does the agency know about the individuals at the customer? If the salesperson has left on good terms and is willing, it is best to find out as much as possible about the individuals the agency is dealing with. If this isn’t possible, then planning individual visits and careful note-taking is key. Getting to know the key people at each customer is an important part of the transition plan that the agency develops when a key person leaves.

Summary

The loss of a key person serving key accounts is always difficult and nerve wracking. The sudden departure of a major person within the agency structure is disappointing and disruptive. Planning in advance and being prepared for this type of “emergency” is very important to the agency’s continued success.

This article presents a few ideas for coping with this type of change. Hopefully it doesn’t happen to your agency, but if it does, you have a starting point.

Good luck and good selling.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].