Today I spent my day “blitzing” accounts for one of my reps. I teach and train on this concept of blitzing, which I created for Gentiva years ago– for three reasons, all of which help me as a manager– and two of which help my company, and one of which helps the rep:
1. The blitz ALWAYS involves bringing operations and corporate types out into the field to make calls, which ALWAYS increases their understanding and appreciation of sales people and the challenges that go with getting in front of decision makers and getting referrals.
2. The rep is forced to organize and plan days in the field for accounts that they should already know, and, if the rep includes cold calls, it gives the manager a chance to see how hard the rep plans ahead to make sure that the time of day/day of week/physical location measures are met!
3. The manager gets to see how much penetration the rep is making, and really, how hard the rep is working to earn business.
So, today, my rep planned nine calls for me– which included a two and a half hour drive, each way, into the city I called on. The first call had the wrong address and contact name. The second call was closed for the day. The third call was closed as well. The fourth and fifth calls had never heard of my company. The sixth call was a military base that I could not gain clearance on. The seventh call was hard to find and the contact person was not in on Wednesdays. The eighth call was not in on Wednesdays. My final call was in, but I waited 30 minutes to meet with her and ended up speaking to a colleague instead.
So, how would you rate my rep? Needless to say, I am not impressed, nor am I happy with the preparation my rep (didn’t) make on my behalf. What are your thoughts?
Best, Bill
