The principal is coming!
The principal is coming!

What does this mean to your agency? There is a lot involved in a “Field Visit” from a principal.

Who is coming?
Is it the sales manager?
Regional manager?
VP of sales? President?

It really doesn’t matter who the visitor is. What matters is your procedures and process for handling a visit from a principal.

Why is this so important?
The most important reason is that getting a principal on your turf is a huge opportunity to impress or disappoint.

Advance Notice

If your systems are good, you have an ongoing relationship with your principals that cause them to give you 30–90-day notice of a planned visit and hopefully some indication of what they expect to accomplish on the visit.

But, at times the notice can be only a few days. There are very few legitimate reasons for a lack of notice, but short notice appears to be the rule with certain principals. For years I have suggested that a smart rep firm put principals on notice that they need time to schedule appointments and other activities of a field visit. Yet, many rep firms have not taken steps to put procedures in place and they find themselves scrambling, changing schedules, and generally running around like chickens when a “surprise visit” jumps up.

Landmines

Everything about the field visit is a landmine waiting for you or one of your team to step on it. Paranoia aside, the opportunities to screw up during or after a field visit are neverending. Every misstep is magnified. The principal is taking his/her time to be with you in the field. He/she may be annoyed to have to be out traveling with you in the first place. He/she may already think that you and your agency are less than desirable for their company. He/she may be thinking about how he/she can get rid of you and find a much better rep firm.

Organization Avoids Landmines

To defend your agency against the principal’s pre-conceived notions or not-so-hidden agenda you have one powerful weapon — organization.

The better organized the visit is, the more likely you are to survive the visit and perhaps gain some ground in the eyes of the principal.

The Itinerary Speaks!

One of the best ways to get off on a good foot and to control the visit is to have a detailed itinerary for every minute the principal is on the ground in your territory. And the fuller the agenda is the better. The goal should be to start very early and end very late every day.

Picking up the principal at five a.m. is ideal. He/she should be ready for a hearty breakfast at which time you review the day’s activity and provide him/her with a copy of the agenda and some “briefing notes” on the people you are going to see.

Detail Wins

The more detailed you can be with your briefing the better. Let the principal know the history with the customer and all current issues. Show him/her your “Call Guide” for the call. Let him/her know your objectives for the call and what you expect.

Multiple-Line Selling is Vital

The principal knows — or should know — that you have many other lines that you sell to the customers you call on for them. Some reps try to avoid mentioning other lines when they have a principal with them. I go the other way. I purposefully mention and discuss at least one other line on every call.

Multiple-Line Selling = Power Selling!

I want the principal to know about our other lines. I want him/her to see the quality of the other lines. I will definitely review the line-card with him/her at the start of our visit. I will let him/her know that we are going to be discussing other lines briefly during certain visit. I want the principal to know that we have major-dollar involvement with other lines with key customers who also buy their line. I want him/her to understand the power of multiple-line selling and how we as an agency have a power position with our customers because we do sell them so much product. The principal may not fully understand multiple-line selling. This is a good opportunity to demonstrate the value that we bring because we have such a strong package of lines.

Make Every Call Count

Selecting the right customers and making very strong, effective calls is the only way to make the principal appreciate the value of your services.

This is the bottom line. Many principals do not appreciate the value of the rep’s services. He/she may think that any salesperson can do what you do. It is important to set up as many situations as possible where the customer is telling the principal how valuable you, the rep, are to him and his company. You don’t have to brief your customers in general, but it may help to talk to customers in advance to tell them what the principal is all about and how much you would appreciate them reinforcing the value of your rep services. Perhaps the customer has a “story” about something that has happened that makes you and your firm look good. So much the better.

Farewell and Good Luck!

Luck has no part in the field visit. Everything is orchestrated, especially the good bye and the immediate follow-up.

Obviously, getting the principal to the airport or other point of departure on time is critical. You don’t want to look like a stumble bum at the very end of a 2–3-day field visit. The key to all field visits is managing the timing to always be in control.

No Luck Here!

The follow-up to the field visit is very detailed and very tightly managed.

First, send a “Thank You” note and appropriate copies within the principal company. Thank your visitor and make him/her look good with his/her bosses.

And then get your Field Visit/Trip Report into the visitor’s hands as quickly as possible.

The goal is to have your notes and follow-up items waiting for the principal when he/she arrives back at his office. The detail makes the trip. What was promised to customers? What follow-up is needed to complete sales or service items that were discussed? Where are the best sales opportunities? What needs to be done to significantly increase sales? The list may be long. That is good. The more you can illustrate the value of your services and the quality of your professional services the better.

Avoid the landmines and capitalize on the opportunities! We are not paranoid. We just know they are out to get us. No matter what happens during a field visit, you must be constantly aware of the pitfalls of having a principal in the field.

At the same time, your process and procedures need to set you up to not only look good out in the field, but to look especially good to the principal when he/she is back in the office reviewing what happened.

The fast-paced, highly organized field visit is your opportunity to win with a principal. But, it only happens if you make it happen!