What happens when sales calls on local customers are tacked onto the duties of a manufacturer’ s local employee?
The local employees’ primary duties always come first and local sales calls get pushed back“ until I have time for them.” The local employee calling on customers knows that every customer visit means work piling up at his or her“ real” job at the company, so sales calls become halfhearted“ I need to check the box that I was here and get back to the office” events.
It’ s a no brainer. Why would a company squander its home court advantage by assigning local sales responsibility to someone who can only make sales calls when they can squeeze them into their schedule around the duties of their“ real” job.
That’ s why many manufacturers use reps in their home territory. They need a sales force that has one job— to call on customers and prospects all day every day.
Of course.
Charles Cohon
Charles Cohon, CPMR, is CEO and president of MANA. In 2016 Cohon earned the Certified Association Executive( CAE) designation after completing American Society of Association Executives( ASAE) coursework and testing. Cohon also earned an MBA with honors and with concentrations in strategic management and entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and was founder and owner of a very successful Illinois manufacturers’ representative firm for nearly 30 years before joining MANA.