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Several years ago, a MANA member firm in one of the country’s warmer climates contacted Agency Sales to describe one of his pet peeves. According to the agent, “Without even checking the weather, we can always tell when there’s a miserable winter in the Midwest or Northeast. That’s when many of our principals decide it’s time to schedule field territory visits with us.”

“Normally joint sales calls to our important customers are an important tool in our arsenal; but when a full complement of these scheduled calls (none of which have an important or specific reason) is scheduled primarily between December and March, both I and my customers know something’s up.”

What the agent was describing here is the field visit that serves no purpose. Maybe the new sales manager needs some time out of the office or as described above, it’s just a good opportunity to escape a grey winter.

Field Calls Remain Valuable

Not to put an entirely negative spin on the field visit, however, a number of independent representatives and the principals that work with them maintain the joint sales call remains as valuable today as it ever was, but it should be used to achieve a stated purpose. In order to achieve that stated purpose, there are a number of reasons why such calls should be entertained. Among the more practical reasons that field visits should be planned and executed are to:

• Evaluate the performance of the representative and/or conduct quarterly/annual reviews.
• Negotiate contracts.
• Conduct technical product seminars.
• Solve important problems in the field.
• Ensure that the manufacturer’s face is seen in-person in front of the customer.
• Introduce a new product or marketing program.
• Gain time out of the office or to provide the opportunity to terminate the representative.

If these (even the last two) and some additional purposes can be accepted as valuable reasons to conduct field visits, there should be some planning and follow-up to ensure that the effort expended on the field visit achieves the desired result. That brings us to the pre-visit, the actual visit and the post-visit planning.

Prior to any field visit — and by prior we mean 30 days or more — the principal should communicate an itinerary to the agent. At the same time, it would be wise to ask the agent for input on the itinerary. It’s at this point that details concerning transportation, hotels, meals and entertainment should be decided. Once the itinerary is finalized, the trip may commence.

Planning is Essential

During the visit, plenty of time should be allowed for the principal’s team to meet and network with the agency’s team. It should also be agreed upon who should take the lead during meetings with customers. At the conclusion of the visit, there should be a thorough de-briefing between the principal and agency staff.

Post visit it’s important that the agency representative provide the principal with a review form containing a recap of all calls in which commitments were made either by the principal or the representative.

Remember that planning for quality visits with agents is a necessity and an opportunity for both the principal and the representative to sell themselves to the other. If there’s a reluctance to provide this time, the question must be asked why you want a given agent to represent your company and your line of products.

MANA’s Steps to High-Quality Manufacturer Status

As a manufacturer that outsources the sales function to independent manufacturers’ agents, you want to create relationships with the most professional manufacturers’ agents willing to work with you. The more professional the manufacturers’ agent, the more
they sell for you.

In the eyes of a manufacturers’ agent, one of the characteristics of a high-quality principal is one who knows how to partner with their manufacturers’ agents when they make territory visits. Those principals travel to the territory with plenty of advance warning and with specific goals to accomplish during the visit.

Educational Resource
Teleforums:

How to Handle Territory Visits — MANA staff and industry consultant Nicki Weiss instruct participants on the value of joint visits in the field with principals and their representatives. In addition, instructions are offered on what tasks are to be performed before, during and at the completion of such visits.